Changed Leaf
by Lonely-Avenger
Summary: Keitaro seeks a fresh change of life, leaving Hinata Sou. Taking a 2 year vacation offered by Seta, he then comes back to Japan as a changed man... Keitaro x Harem!
1. Prologue: Arrival

**Changed Leaf**

(Formerly known as **A Fragile Love**)

Created by: **Lonely-Avenger**

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**DISCLAIMER:**

**LOVE HINA** is property of Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. and is trademark of TOKYOPOP. The purpose of this story is just for writing enjoyment. Elements of the anime described in this story are borrowed and shaped to the writer's interests. All rights reserved.

**_Ar Tonelico: Melody of Eternia_** is property of GUST, NIS America, and other respective figures. All rights reserved.

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I'd like to to say to the following concerned people:

**lighthawkdemon1: **I e-mailed you regarding borrowing your story premise in **"Family Affairs"**. You didn't receive it? I've waited for the several past weeks for your reply. Anyhow, major credits for the idea of Haruka's love for Keitaro goes rightfully to you! I deeply apologize for posting the idea without your consent (assuming you still haven't read my e-mail), but I hope this small tidbit of info makes up for it.

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This story's initial chapter is dedicated to **lighthawkdemon1**, for his wonderful Love Hina story **"Family Affairs"**. **lighthawkdemon1**, if you're reading this, let me know your opinion ASAP!

Aside from him, I'd like to dedicate this story to the many dedicated, persistent, and loyal readers who have unknowingly/knowingly supported me to write on **"A Fragile Love"**. It saddens me to replace the story with this new one, but a new beginning and fresh start is what I need to spruce up my writing once more, despite my hectic present schedule. Without your support, readers, I wouldn't have been able to come up with this new story instead.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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**Summary:**

Keitaro Urashima, 21-year old manager of Hinata-Sou, grows weary of his managerial duties and seeks a fresh change of life, leaving Hinata-Sou. Taking a 2-year vacation in the USA offered by Seta, he then comes back to Japan as a changed man. Unknown to him, his new self would have a startling effect on many women, especially the Hinata-Sou girls...

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**Prologue: Arrival**

_Word_ denotes character thought

**_Word_** denotes time and setting

"Word" denotes character speech

"**_Word"_** denotes flashback speech

**-Word-** denotes sound effect

_**-Word-**_ denotes flashback sound effect

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_**Time: February 14, 2000 AD, 10:00AM**_

_**Location: Tokyo International Airport --- Tokyo, Japan**_

With just a large, black suitcase held by his right hand, which signified his only luggage he carried containing spare clothing and some basic necessities, Keitaro Urashima turned to find himself entering the Arrivals area of the airport, greeted by the sight of other arriving passengers walking past his standing figure. Those passengers hurried to their loved ones who waited behind a short barrier, giving space for other arriving passengers to exit the airport. Letting his dark-brown eyes linger on a happy couple reunited with each other, he couldn't help but allow a small smile trace his lips, which lasted briefly for a few seconds before a pang of sadness shot through his heart.

_Did I make a right choice, coming back home? Yet, why did I bother doing so,_ he asked himself inwardly.

Shaking off his stupor, Keitaro ran his left hand through his short, spiked-up, dark-brown hair while letting out a tired sigh from his lips. Decked in all-white clothing consisting of a turtleneck shirt (worn over by a sleeveless overcoat), battle gloves, belted tight-fit pants, and leather shoes, his clothing style caught some attention of other passerby in the airport, making them raise several eyebrows. The only distinguishable color on his clothing was the black insignia of a cross etched on the back of his sleeveless overcoat, adding a piece of mystery and flair to the former manager of Hinata-Sou.

Despite his clothing taste, it was apparent that Keitaro stood out as a handsome, young man. During his initial years performing managerial duties in Hinata-Sou, he had a lanky, average frame, complimented by a thick-rimmed specs, long dark-brown hair, and simple clothes, making him look more like a "dork" (as Sarah McDougal, his archaeological mentor Seta Noriyasu's adoptive 9-year old daughter, would put it).

Oh how Sarah or other critics who looked down on Keitaro would be proven dead wrong.

If she were there with him, taking a good glance at his improved self now, she'd be awestruck with a gaping mouth and instantly take back her retort.

Despite his short vacation in the USA with Seta, Keitaro took up some time to build himself up physically, chiseling his lanky, average frame into a lean, athletic one. While not mirroring Herculean-proportions, his entire muscles beefed up, and they were just right fit for his caliber. Had he been wearing a muscle shirt, the faint outlines of his four-pack abs and broad chest could make any female droop their tongues, with their eyes tantalizing on his dreamy figure. Gone were his thick-rimmed specs, only to be replaced by comfortable contact lenses, which seemed to give a small bright luster to his eyes. His dark-brown eyes held a hint of clarity and charm, and would be able to mesmerize any unsuspecting female drawn to them. He also towered an imposing 5'10", thanks to his devoted time in exercise and several forms of martial arts.

Much luck goes to the woman who tries earning his heart, though. During his time in Hinata-Sou, Keitaro was unfortunately a victim of circumstance, and cursed with clumsiness, he was often punched, kicked, mauled, socked over, etc., by the Hinata-Sou girls, namely Motoko Aoyama and Naru Narusegawa, who took it upon themselves to view the unfortunate young man as a pervert, whenever catching him in a precarious misunderstanding, thanks to his clumsiness. For both girls, they bore a fiery disposition, sharing a dislike for perverts.

Adding more pain to his fiber was Koalla Suu, who viewed him as a playmate, who often greeted him with jumping kicks to the head, and terrorized him with her bizarre, insane inventions of doom, which showed her intelligence and creativity to measure up to the standards of the most brilliant scientists on Earth.

Mitsune Konno, nicknamed "Kitsune" due to her cunning, mischievous, and playful nature, also found it amusing to tease the unfortunate manager of Hinata-Sou through use of feminine charms, and always found ways to take advantage of Keitaro, mostly for financial reasons.

Fortunately for Keitaro, the remaining girls, Shinobu Maehara and Mutsumi Otohime, were the most tolerable people he could get used to. The former bore a caring personality, who'd often go in the way to help others, taking them in consideration, and retained a certain innocence that sometimes gave Keitaro the impression that she was too kind for her own good. The latter sported an amicable disposition, and seemed to be a very gentle, soft-spoken girl; however, she was stricken with fainting spells and the same clumsiness as Keitaro, having the tendency to fall down, run into things, and landing into injurious situations from which she recovers quickly.

Yet, despite the Hinata-Sou girls' faults, Keitaro couldn't help but appreciate having them in his life. But that didn't stop the repressed pain he held deep in his heart, one that described fear of being hurt by a woman, much thanks to being rejected by Naru, whom he considered as his true love. The sad part of that was that the event took place during the time Naru was rightfully admitted to Tokyo University, the university which he had been aiming to enter, as by abiding the childhood promise he held dearly in his mind, after managing to ace the university's entrance exams. However, Naru flatly turned him down, bothered by the fact that he was considered a 3-time _ronin_, despite all the hard work and effort he put into studying along with Naru and Mutsumi.

That event harbored him to close his heart. And so, learning from his past mistakes, he warily avoided having a relationship with any woman, except being amicable to family ones, namely his grandmother Hinata Urashima (Hina for short) and aunt Haruka Urashima, and not wanting to experience the same hurt of rejection like before.

Despite this sad fact, Keitaro developed a remarkable gentleness and courtesy in his dealings with women. He wouldn't go that far to disliking and distrusting the fairer sex, but he grew to be a chivalrous opponent, which would make any woman give genuine regard for him.

And thus this trait was now being demonstrated, in the form of Keitaro being suddenly knocked over from behind, catching him off-guard. Regaining balance, he quickly turned around, then seeing a stewardess who was about to fall down, due to accidentally running into him just now. Seeing her fallen form, he dropped his black suitcase and immediately went at her, scooping her fallen form in his arms while making her land on top of him and using his body to cushion her fall instead.

**-THUD-**

The sudden event startled several passerby, getting their attention, as they watched Keitaro gently leading the stewardess to stand back up to her feet. He then stretched his back, soothing the ache emanating from his fall. Seeing this, the stewardess's eyes widen with alarm, and she bowed at him in apology with an ashamed look on her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I hope you're not hurt, sir?" she asked concerned.

Keitaro gingerly rubbed behind his head embarrassingly with his right hand, while giving a small smile, "No, it's nothing. I'm just glad to cushion your fall and see you not get hurt instead."

The remark made the stewardess blush with embarrassment, feeling a bit touched by his concern implied and making her feel warm inside. As she took a good look at the kind stranger who rescued her from injury, her heart leapt up a few beats, and intensified her embarrassed blush.

The curious passerby decided to stop watching them and resumed back to their original tasks at hand.

"Um... miss? Are you alright?" Keitaro asked, waving his left hand up and down in front of the female stewardess's face. Seeing and realizing his action, she quickly shook off her reverie and regained composure, eliciting a gladden smile from the kind stranger.

"Er... y-yes... I'm alright," she awkwardly replied. Before she could speak any further, she felt the forms of two other stewardesses finally running up to her, who also sported the same uniforms as her. Quickly gauging their uniforms, Keitaro surmised them to be her co-workers, apparently working for the same airline he took to get here in Japan. He then shifted his view to the female stewardess he just rescued, then realizing her beauty, prompting him to gaze genuinely at her. Standing a few inches short of him, she sported black hair with twin pigtails, black eyes, and a pleasing mouth.

The stewardess's black eyes met with Keitaro's brown ones, and for a moment she felt she was in another world, quiet and surreal, feeling just her and the kind stranger standing face her. Disappointingly, she was quickly shaken back to reality by one of her co-workers gathered around her, who shook her left shoulder from behind.

"Misha, are you alright? You shouldn't have run off like that!" the co-worker exclaimed worriedly.

"...Oh...! I'm sorry, Aurica..." the stewardess known as Misha replied, playfully sticking her tongue out at her co-worker known as Aurica, who shook her head disappointingly. Amused by their behavior, Keitaro couldn't help but chuckle aloud, catching their attention. As all three female stewardess gazed at him, they were awestruck in sheer fascination, echoing a similar remark shared between them.

_He's so handsome...!_

Oblivious to their dreamy stares directed at him, Keitaro spotted his dropped black suitcase, clutching it with his left hand, and coughed slightly, covering his cough with his right hand, to get the three stewardesses' attention. At the same time, he noticed the time on his watch worn around his right wrist --- **10:15AM**.

"I'm sorry, but I must take my leave now. And also," Keitaro then walked up to Misha and handed back her small baggage trolley she dropped from her fall previously, "this belongs to you. Do take care next time... I wouldn't want to see a lady like you get hurt."

A startled gasp sounded out from Misha's mouth, as she could only nod in reply, before watching her savior bring her left hand to his mouth, kissing the back of the hand. The action elicited a hotly blush on Misha's face, as her lips gaped open surprised, while her heart quickened several beats. Then letting go of her left hand, Keitaro gave a curt nod to her, before turning around and exiting the airport, leaving behind three flustered stewardesses watching his retreating form.

"**-Sigh-** He's so... dreamy," Aurica commented with a smile.

"Yeah... I know what you mean," Misha added with a dreamy look on her face.

"...He's quite an intriguing man," the third stewardess commented, earning surprised looks from her co-workers, "What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"This is the first time we've actually agreed on something, Shurelia," Misha commented, glancing sideways at Aurica, who nodded in agreement.

The third stewardess known as Shurelia gave a pondered look at her co-workers before tilting her head sideways with her right forefinger on her chin.

"I suppose you're right on that fact, Misha."

Aurica then walked in between her co-workers, grabbing them around their shoulders, "Come on, girls, I know of a good place to eat!"

Ignoring her co-workers' protests, Aurica began dragging them along with her, as they resumed exiting the airport and hailing for a taxi. Along the way, Misha couldn't help but trace the spot where her left hand was kissed by the handsome stranger she just encountered.

_I think my day just got brighter for now._

A brief, mischievous smile traced her lips.

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After hailing a taxi and hauling his luggage inside, Keitaro was whisked off to his intended destination he stated to the taxi driver, who gave a seconds glance at his new passenger on the rear-view mirror before driving off to his passenger's destination. Within several minutes after exiting the airport, Keitaro's taxi soon proceeded to the ever twisty confines of highways, overpasses, and other stretches of roads before entering the Hinata district, where buried memories of Hinata-Sou soon surfaced about in his mind as he began reminiscing about it.

He was so caught up with his travels in memory lane that he hardly noticed the brief time his taxi finally arriving in front of a tea shop, owned by his aunt Haruka Urashima. Setting the taxi to park, the taxi driver glanced back at his pondering passenger, looking at him with a raised left eyebrow of wonder before deciding to voice out his stop.

"Sir...? Sir...? Are you alright? We're already here where you wanted to go."

With his last thoughts turned to his Aunt Haruka, Keitaro then shook off his stupor and regained his bearings. His ears soon twitched, listening to the taxi driver's words directed at him, prompting him to survey his surroundings. His eyes then stopped at the sight of his aunt's teashop signboard --- **HINATA TEASHOP** --- before letting a flash of recognition mirrored on his dark-brown orbs. He turned to the taxi driver with a sheepish grin, startling him.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking lots of things. I'll get my luggage off first."

Keitaro gingerly exited the taxi, before motioning the taxi driver to open the car trunk, allowing him to collect his only luggage. Fishing out his wallet from within his overcoat, Keitaro paid the taxi driver with a hefty sum, more than the stated fare measured by the taxi's meter. The taxi driver looked alarmingly at the payment he received then back at his passenger.

"T-This is twice more than the meter says, sir! This is too much!" he protested. Deep down though, he was looking forward to receiving a tip at least from this passenger, but wasn't expecting a hefty sum nevertheless.

"Think of it as something extra for your services. Besides, I think you deserve it. I know the life of a taxi driver isn't an easy one, that's for sure. So, keep the change," Keitaro shook his head in disagreement, slowly pushing back his payment to the taxi driver with his hands, who could only accept it and smile in resignation. He pocketed the money in the front left pocket of his white polo.

"Well... thank you, kind sir. This is actually my first big tip I've got all day," the taxi driver commented wryly.

"Don't mention it," Keitaro replied, then curtly nodding at the taxi driver before turning around, walking to the front door of his aunt's teashop. He didn't bother watching the taxi driver bowing thankfully at his retreating form, before climbing back inside the taxi and driving off, searching for a new passenger to take in.

Stopping at the front door of his aunt's teashop, Keitaro took a deep breath before reaching his right hand to knock at the glass-covered door, declaring his presence to be known. As he knocked, he noticed the **"SHOP CLOSED" **sign hanged in view from the other side of the glass-covered door, making him raise a left eyebrow in interest.

_How could she close up her teashop at this early hour?_ _Well, that explains why there were no customers found here at the first place when I peered through the door._

After several knocks, he decided to open the door, pushing it, and much to his surprise, actually opened, allowing him to enter inside.

_I better remind Aunt Haruka to double-check on locking this door next time,_ he reminded himself, as he decided to enter inside the teashop without waiting for his aunt to answer the front door.

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"No, this won't do... **-Sigh-** If this continues, I'll have to lay-off one or two workers in the teashop..." Haruka Urashima commented to herself, as she placed her pen down on her personal desk in her office situated upstairs in the second floor of her teashop. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she looked at a small photo of her and her beloved nephew rested on her desk. Her marigold eyes shimmered slightly as they loomed in the image of her nephew, whom she cherished deep down.

Despite her stoic nature and not being much of a social person, which resulted in her making few friends, Haruka is still considered very beautiful, lingering in an age of 25 years. Having owned her own small business successfully, the Hinata Teashop, she's quite an independent woman. On a whimsical note, these small facts help make her shine, possibly attracting potential bachelors to her fancy.

However, there has always been one man for her... one man who she has always loved with every fiber of her being. And thus lies the problem and the source of her inner turmoil which she has been experiencing since she first laid eyes on him.

Keitaro Urashima, her 21-year old nephew.

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**Author's Notes (A/N):**

_**Flashback timeline: 1979 AD**_

_**Birthdates of the Urashima family line:**_

_**1st Urashima Hierarchy:**_

_**January 1, 1934: Keisuke Urashima (45 years, father)**_

_**May 16, 1935: Hina Kea (44 years, mother)**_

_**2nd Urashima Hierarchy:**_

_**February 14, 1975: Haruka Kea Urashima (4 years, daughter)**_

_**February 15, 1959: Keiu Kea Urashima (20 years, son)**_

_**--- May 3, 1960: Miki Asami (19 years, daughter-in-law)**_

_**--- January 1, 1979: Keitaro Asami Urashima (newborn, grandson)**_

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_**Flashback**_

_**Time: January 1, 1979 AD, 6:00AM**_

_**Location: Tokyo Medical Center --- Tokyo, Japan **_

Haruka was 4 years old when she first laid eyes on him.

Her parents took her to see the baby boy, who was starting the journey of his life. He was currently in his mother's arms, with his tiny dark-brown eyes blinking at the people gathered around his mother's bed.

"**_He's so cute! He has the color of your sister-in-law's eyes, though he takes his look from your brother, don't you think, Haruka?"_** Hina Kea Urashima asked her daughter, who looked curiously at the baby.

"**_Yes, mama, he looks like brother Keiu,"_** Haruka replied, nodding to her mother.

"**_Congratulations, son! What this bundle of joy's name?"_** her father, Keisuke Urashima, asked his son Keiu Urashima (Haruka's older brother), who was beaming with joy at his baby. He and his wife locked eyes with each other briefly before he replied.

"**_His name is Keitaro. It was Miki's idea from the start. He looks a bit more like his mother,"_** Keiu commented, letting his right pinky finger for his baby boy's small hands to grasp. The baby gave a small gurgle before staring at his mother, who slowly cradled him into a lullaby.

"**_Our Keitaro looks like an angel, darling,"_** Miki Asami Urashima smiled to her husband.

As Haruka gazed at the baby, she couldn't help but felt an attraction from those two dark-brown orbs that exalted care, happiness, and love. There was something she wouldn't make of them until she grew older. She watched as those said tiny eyes slowly closed, signifying that the baby was drifting into slumber.

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_**Time: March 1, 1992 AD**_

At 17-years old, Haruka underwent through her High School years. However, it became apparent that she felt a long distance between her and him.

The years went onto her senior year. Her academic performance was superb, maintaining grades of A's in her subjects.

Nevertheless, she would always find time now and then to visit him, staying by his side. Annoyed by being addressed formally by her cherished love, she reminded him to address her by her first name instead, despite being 4 years older than him. At first he was awkward about it, but as her visits to him continued, he learned to accept it, and grew to be comfortable around her.

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_**Time: April 9, 1996 AD**_

At 21-years old, Haruka took up a 4-year course in Business Management at Tokyo University. The university had high regulations and standards that she at first made a mediocre performance --- the most she could make was passing marks of 4.0. Thoughts of switching colleges and courses crossed into her mind, as she felt hope draining from her within each poor performance.

At that same time, she'd feel a constant akin to jealousy of other young, pretty girls who would spend time with Keitaro.

One time at a friendly neighborhood gathering in the Urashima residence, she noticed a 14-year old girl, who was a good friend and next-door neighbor, innocently sharing a happy time with him, talking and holding hands. Haruka couldn't help turn a blind eye to this while she secretly watched on the scene. With her heart and mind being filled with envy and jealousy, she had reached the limits of her patience, unable to watch any longer. Thus she quickly rushed towards the girl, shoving her off the chair she was sitting on. At that moment, her mind instantly cleared, as she then realized her action before she fled into the kitchen with embarrassment, leaving the rest of the Urashima family and their invited neighborhood to stare at her retreating form with disbelief and wonder.

Concerned for his friend shoved off from her seat, Keitaro helped the fallen girl up, while wondering what made his aunt do something careless.

"**_Are you okay, Azusa?"_** he asked his friend.

The said girl dusted herself off and smiled, before resuming her seat.

"_**I'm fine, Keitaro. But why did your aunt pushed me just now?"**_

"_**...I don't know. But she was acting strange back then. I'm sorry for what she did to you just now."**_

Standing alone behind the kitchen door, Haruka wondered to herself, placing her hand over her beating, troubled heart.

_Why did I just do that? Was I so jealous of that girl spending time with my Keitaro?_

A blush sprang forth on her face as she realized the way she was addressing her secret love, like he belonged to her. Deep down, she was afraid of those feelings developing inside her, and she'd use every ounce of willpower to maintain her self-control when dealing with Keitaro.

It was then she realized... it was love.

But hurtful truths regarding incest within the family posed as a serious obstacle she dreaded. Pushing those conflicting thoughts aside, she tried her best to fend off possible romantic interests who confounded their feelings for her nephew.

Despite that incident, memories of him kept her going. She found a ray of hope and inspiration drawn from her love for him, enabling her to progress forward. The 4 long years of study finally paid off, and she graduated with full marks of 1.0, gaining recognition as valedictorian and part of the dean's list from her batch.

That would be a happy start of her adult life.

However, a part of her heart was afflicted with sadness, as she realized she'd never see her nephew again. She sent him her last set of letters, keeping in touch with him for the last time. In those written letters, she poured out all her feelings for him in each word, though not actually confessing to him that she loved him not as an aunt, but a woman.

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_**Time: May 31, 2000 AD**_

Haruka then decided to explore her horizons, by traveling to the US at a best friend's request after her college graduation. Her best friend, Jessica MacDougal, was a cheery, spirited woman who had a 7-year old daughter named Sarah MacDougal. She worked as an archaeologist in California University. Jessica, a fellow archaeologist, introduced Haruka to a co-worker, Seta Noriyasu. She instantly became interested in him due to his likeness of her first love. Seta's behavior was calm and peculiar; nevertheless, he was devoted to his career.

But as several months past on, he liked both women; unfortunately, he couldn't make up his mind to choose who. So, he made a promise to both that when he turned 30-years old, he'd marry who he selected.

Alas, it was also the time when tragedy struck. While on a routine expedition dig, Jessica suddenly collapsed unconscious. After being rushed immediately to a nearby hospital, the doctor confirmed she had contracted a fatal virus that weakened her immune system gradually.

"**_I'm sorry… but she doesn't have long to live. I'd give her a month,"_** he guiltily replied, shocking Haruka, Sarah, and Seta.

"**_Impossible… I always figured she be cautious on wherever location she selects for the expedition dig,"_** Seta adjusted his eyeglasses, with a twinkle of light reflected from its lens. He took the news carefully with a passive face, which hid his shock over the grave news of his loved one.

"**_I've already run tests on her... I'm afraid there's no possible cure for her condition. Her illness is considered one of the few diseases with little chance for a cure. I apologize for pouring out this disheartening news, but I'm stating the facts. Well, you may see her now," _**the doctor bowed to them, before excusing himself to see his next patient.

The three related people stepped into Jessica's room to find the said woman sadly smiling at them. She had lost little weight, but her complexity was surprisingly maintained.

"**_-Cough- -Cough- I'm glad you came. The doctor filled me in on my condition. It looks like I had gotten careless in the midst of my work,"_** she spoke. She saw her daughter clasping her hand over hers.

"**_Mommy… -Sniff- -Sniff-,"_** Sarah couldn't help but cry. Her mother ruffled her hair and wiped off her tears. She laughed a little, seeing how her daughter was a mirror image of her younger self --- long, blond hair, purple eyes, and bright peach skin.

"**_Don't cry, Sarah. Sometimes life can be cruel without you knowing it,"_** Jessica kissed her daughter on the forehead. She shifted her gaze at Seta, who was being himself, **_"Seta, please take care of Sarah for me."_**

The fellow archaeologist nodded his head in reply, then clasping his hand over hers.

"**_Don't worry, Jessica, I promise you that. Excuse me, Haruka?"_** Seta turned facing the stated person, **_"can you take Sarah with you outside for a moment? I'd like some time alone with Jessica."_**

The female Urashima sighed, looking at the two important people in her life.

"**_I understand._**"

She gently led Sarah to come with her, exiting the room.

15 minutes passed in the hallway outside Jessica's room where Haruka and Sarah sat down in nearby hallway seats, waiting. Haruka took out a pack of cigarettes from her pants' pocket. She took a cigarette out from the pack and lighted it with a lighter. Putting the pack back in her pocket, she smoked a whiff of it, blowing out a puffy ring of smoke.

_**Jessica... why did this have to happen to you?**_

She patted the young MacDougal's shoulders, comforting her.

"_**Don't worry, Sarah, your mother's strong. She'll fight till the very end."**_

Sarah embraced her with a sad, teary face.

"_**Thank you, Aunt Haruka."**_

Jessica's door opened, with Seta stepping out. He motioned the female Urashima to him.

"_**Haruka, Jessica wants to see you now alone."**_

"**_Alright, I'll go see her,"_** Haruka replied with a nod, before snubbing her cigarette out in a nearby garbage astray and breaking her embrace with Sarah. Stepping past Seta and inside Jessica's room, she took slow steps approaching her best friend's bedside. She drew a chair nearby for herself to sit on.

Jessica sadly smiled at her, placing her hand over hers.

"_**Haruka… it seems that fate has suddenly become unlucky for me. But, it doesn't matter to me anymore. I'll always enjoy my line of work."**_

"_**Jessica… I'm sorry this had to happen to you. I was shocked when the doctor informed me of your condition."**_

"_**Yes, maybe Seta was right, I've been too focused on my work that I hardly give notice to myself. But that plant sure looked very suspicious back there in the expedition. I was careless."**_

"_**It's not like you to blame yourself. Put aside your worries and try to get some rest. Save your strength."**_

"_**-Giggle- You always have that stoic look on your face whenever you show care and concern to others."**_

Haruka smirked at her best friend's remark.

"_**Well, is there anything you want to talk about? Now would be a good time."**_

"_**Yes, I have. Haruka, I'm not asking much, but can do you me a favor when I'm gone?"**_

The female Urashima squeezed affectionately her best friend's hands as she nodded in reply.

"_**I want you to find your own happiness in your life."**_

"_**W-What do you mean?"**_

"_**Well… before this happened, I began to notice you having a sullen disposition, as if you're not sure with what to do in your life. It became evident when you shared with me about your first love, wasn't it?"**_

"_**!"**_

"_**-Giggle- Come on, don't be surprised. It looks pretty obvious to me."**_

Haruka looked away from Jessica, embarrassed. Well, she was her best friend after all during her college years, and she trusted her well enough in confiding her secrets. But she was annoyed and embarrassed now that Jessica brought that issue up in her stricken condition.

"_**Haruka… I know this might be a bad time to bring that up, but I just want to help my best friend, who seems to be in trouble."**_

"**_-Sigh- Jessica… I'm not sure with what to do in my life,"_** Haruka looked back. Jessica released her hand from her grip and patted it gently.

"_**Haruka, we all have something to deal with in our lives. But sometimes, not doing anything about it will only make it burdensome and worse for you to bear. For example, I raised Sarah all by myself especially with her father who ran off on us, not to be seen again. Sure it was hard and painful, but as time passed by, I learned to get past it."**_

"_**But Jessica… this is different. Can you not see a natural law that forbids incest happening within the family --- even when my first love happens to be the son of my 38-year old brother? Despite my love for him, I just cannot put it aside."**_

Jessica shook her head in disappointment.

"_**To me, I think it's a wonderful thing. Sure it's shocking and strange at first, but there can be something special about to happen. Love knows no boundaries, as my psychologist mentor told me a long time ago."**_

"_**Jessica…"**_

"_**Haruka, you should at least give it a try, or you'll never know if you don't. Please promise me you'll do it. I never want to see my best friend hurt in any way."**_

Haruka glanced back at her best friend's piercing eyes, which showed concern.

"_**-Sigh- Alright. I promise."**_

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After that, Jessica MacDougal fought hard to live. With love and support from her daughter, Seta, and Haruka, she found the strength and will to fight her stricken condition. Chemotherapy was offered to her to help, but she declined, fearing its effects altering her body. Her doctor was also astounded by her will to live on until the end.

Because of this, Jessica got to enjoy some cherished and happy moments in her last days of life. She spent important times with her daughter, teaching her life's lessons.

After a year, the disease eventually took over, claiming her life. Her last wishes were for her body to be cremated, and her ashes scattered over her birthplace --- San Francisco, California. Seta followed and respected her wishes, and did as instructed.

Her family --- Sarah, Seta, and Haruka --- paid their respects and wishes. Fulfilling his promise to her, Seta adopted Sarah as his daughter, and took her to live with him in his archaeological travels.

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At 25 years old, Haruka decided to fly back to Japan, in order to get over her best friend's passing. Her mother, Hina Kea Urashima, was looking for a manager in an all-girls' dormitory she had been running for the past 20 years, known as the Hinata-Sou. Haruka genuinely accepted the position and began her managerial duties.

Within a month, the first six tenants signed in --- Naru Narusegawa, Mitsune Konno, Motoko Aoyama, Koalla Suu, Shinobu Maehara, and Mutsumi Otohime. Each girl had unique personalities to boot at first glance. Nevertheless, Haruka laid down the rules and conditions for them.

A problem arose in the form of the dorm's rent. Monthly, it was estimated at Y 62500 (USD 500), with a yearly cost of Y 750000 (USD 6000). The first few months were covered by her parents; unfortunately in the following months, they couldn't generate more money to cover the rent, and all their remaining finances were their retirement funds.

And so, Haruka took upon herself to rent a suitable building a few blocks from the dorm and turned it into a teashop. It became an instant success a week later after its opening. Many residents in Hinata district flocked inside daily, generating enough revenue to pay for the succeeding month. She hired suitable workers to maintain the shop.

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Reminiscing made Haruka glance at another small photo of her with Seta and Sarah MacDougal, with all three of them posing happily for the picture.

_Jessica… finding my own happiness is hard for me now._

She stood up from her seat and headed downstairs to the kitchen, making herself a cup of tea to sooth her worry. She took a chair offered and was about to drink her now made tea when she heard loud knocks from the door. She sighed inwardly, annoyed to have her private time interrupted, before reluctantly getting up from her seat and walking to the front door, which was locked, until she heard footsteps entering inside the teashop.

"Huh... I could have sworn I locked the teashop," Haruka muttered to herself with alarmed eyes. Seeing no reason to cry over spilled milk, she took a mental note to double-check locking up the teashop next time. She gingerly took out a baseball bat stashed behind the kitchen door, readying it for a possible intruder, though she doubted that there'd be any object of value to be stolen from the teashop in the first place, unless it was petty cash.

As she entered from behind the counter, a scent from the would-be intruder reached her nose. Her body naturally shook up in remembrance. The scent was laced with a particular brand male cologne, but her nose acutely zeroed in on the husky fragrance she'd come to love from her beloved.

_I-I-It can't... be... is it really... him?_

She soon got her soon answer enough as she stopped in her tracks, glancing up to find Keitaro staring at her with a wide smile. Haruka's heart leapt up a few notches as she laid her eyes on him, finding her beloved to be surprisingly more handsome than she remembered from her last meeting with him two years ago. She found her breath clogging up her throat, until she could barely stammer a greeting.

"H-Hello..."

Keitaro set down his black suitcase on the floor, before walking slowly up to her with his smile still intact.

"Hello, Aunt Haruka. I'm back."

* * *

**AFTERNOTES:**

_Character Cameos:_

**_Ar Tonelico: Melody of Eternia_ - **Aurica Nestmile, Misha Arsellec Lune, Shurelia

(For Shurelia, I'm still coming up with a favorable last name, since it's clearly stated she doesn't have one in the PS2 game. Any suggestions, readers?)

_Other:_

Exchange rate of Japanese Yen to US Dollar --- 125 Y to 1 USD (personally suggested)

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I plan to include some girls I've recently encountered in video games and other sources, aside from other anime series. I'll be coming up with a list of potential love interests for Keitaro, apart from just the Hinata-Sou girls. This prologue is just the beginning of this experiment.

As you all probably surmised from my post (check the 'reviews' link), dated February 28, 2007, I've now rewrite **"A Fragile Love" **into this new story instead, induced with a fresh plot, cast of characters, and other significant details. You'll notice that all the chapters of **"****A Fragile Love"** are deleted, and replaced by this new story's ones instead.

So, with that said, I'd like to say to you readers to send in your reviews of any kind! Without feedback, I won't be able to continue writing this story (and fearing my laziness would take over once again, leaving me no writing enthusiasm!).


	2. Ch1: Hello, Girls

**Changed Leaf**

(Formerly known as **A Fragile Love**)

Created by: **Lonely-Avenger**

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**DISCLAIMER:**

**LOVE HINA** is property of Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. and is trademark of TOKYOPOP. The purpose of this story is just for writing enjoyment. Elements of the anime described in this story are borrowed and shaped to the writer's interests. All rights reserved.

* * *

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**Summary:**

Keitaro Urashima, 21-year old manager of Hinata-Sou, grows weary of his managerial duties and seeks a fresh change of life, leaving Hinata-Sou. Taking a 2-year vacation in the USA offered by Seta, he then comes back to Japan as a changed man. Unknown to him, his new self would have a startling effect on many women, especially the Hinata-Sou girls...

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**Chapter 1: Hello, Girls**

_Word_ denotes character thought

**_Word_** denotes time and setting

"Word" denotes character speech

**-Word-** denotes sound effect

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_**Time: February 14, 2000 AD, 10:30AM**_

_**Location: Hinata Teashop --- Hinata District, Japan**_

Standing there with an agape mouth, Haruka was too stunned to see her beloved smiling genuinely at her. He proceeded to shake her off from her stupor by walking up to her and wrapping his arms around her in a caring embrace.

"It's been a long time, Aunt Haruka. I missed you."

Slowly and hesitantly, Haruka returned the embrace, then relishing the feeling of holding her sought-after love in place. She needn't take a moment's glance to inhale the same husky male scent she always remembered since her last encounter with him two years ago.

Deciding there was enough hugging done Keitaro released his embrace first, and then backed a step away from his aunt. Before Haruka could pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming, being in the same room as her nephew, Keitaro beat her to it instead with a question, after noticing her zoned out state happening in front of him right now.

"Aunt Haruka, are you alright? You seem zoned out."

**-WHAP-**

The next second, Keitaro rubbed the slightly sore spot on top of his head with his right hand, where his aunt's paper fan appeared out of nowhere and delivered a good whack to it.

"How many times must I tell you not to call me 'Aunt'? I'm not that old!" Haruka protested with an annoyed look as she stashed away her paper fan behind her khaki pants right pocket. She then berated herself for hurting her beloved by impulse, after noticing him rubbing the top of his head with an amused smile.

"Sorry, Aunt Haruka... I guess old habits die hard. Would you prefer 'Haruka-san' instead?" Keitaro quipped.

"Humph," Haruka huffed, folding her arms. The next second after, she wryly grinned, and then unfolding her arms, "Where have you been for the last two years? I was so worried about you when you left without a word, and leaving me behind a farewell letter."

Keitaro rubbed behind his head with his right hand and a sheepish grin.

"It's a long story. By the way, how come the teashop is closed early? Is the business falling apart?"

Haruka shook her head in reply, "No, the teashop is still up and running, but business has been pretty slow these past few days, so that's why I decided to close up shop early today and sort out important stuff."

"I see..."

"So... have you decided to come back to Hinata-Sou as the rightful manager?"

"Well... not exactly. I only came here to check up on the dorm, see how the girls were doing, and finally you. I'm sorry for burdening you in filling in the managerial duties of the dorm in my stead."

Haruka waved off his apology with her left hand in disagreement.

"No, I can understand what caused you to suddenly leave the dorm out of the blue. It's just that I was kept in the dark on your reasons to do so, until I read your farewell letter."

For a brief second or two, the female Urashima could have sworn she saw a trace of regret in her nephew's eyes, before they were reverted back into being part of a calm mask he put back up. Keitaro then glanced back at the front door, then to his aunt with an amused look, startling her.

"What?"

"You forgot to lock up the front door. If I remember correctly, you said you closed up the teashop early. But when I got here, I accidentally found it unlocked when I pushed it, after knocking several times. I was worried that someone would break in the teashop, and I didn't see you around."

Haruka felt touched by her beloved's concern, making her feel warm inside. As much as she wanted to show her appreciation for his concern, she could only allow a small smile grace her stoic mask.

"No need to worry about me, I always comes in prepared with a weapon, just in case some oddball would decide to barge in the teashop without a bother."

Keitaro raised a left eyebrow in interest, then noticing the baseball bat lain on one of the nearby tables and next to his aunt, which she unknowingly set aside.

"I guess I was worried for nothing. Au...um, Haruka-san," Keitaro almost bit his tongue hard in correcting himself to address his aunt casually, "I'm looking for a place to stay. I'm not exactly comfortable living back in Hinata-Sou again, so I was wondering if you have a spare room here in the teashop I could use temporarily as mine, until I can find a suitable place to stay for myself."

"Sure, you can!" Haruka quickly responded without thinking, causing her to realize her instant response to her nephew's question. Her heart skipped a few beats, echoing the longing for her beloved held within. She almost blushed with embarrassment, but settled for a meager cough to regain composure before responding, "Um, I mean... yes, I don't mind, you can settle here in my place. I've got an extra room upstairs you can use, and you can work down here for your stay. I could use the help."

Using his right forefinger, Keitaro scratched lightly his right cheek, feeling thoughtful, before he voiced out his thanks for being offered a temporary place to stay, "Thanks Haruka-san. I really appreciate it."

With that said, he went up to his aunt once more to embrace her, startling the older female Urashima again and not giving her time to return back his embrace with her own. As he then turned around, picking up his black suitcase, the swirling of his overcoat produced a small mesmerizing effect of coolness to Haruka, who couldn't help but feel a bit awed by his new and improved appearance. Feeling the need for a smoke, she took out a cigarette from her present pack of cigarettes, placing it in her mouth, while taking out a lighter from the front pocket of her work apron. Before she could light her newly-placed cigarette, Keitaro reached over, taking the cigarette from her lips with his right hand in one lazy motion.

"Could you try to stop smoking at least? I know it's difficult to kill that habit, but these things can kill you slowly, and I'd be devastated if something worse happened to you," he stated, giving another of his beaming smiles. He then turned around, leaving the teashop with the cigarette, but not before telling Haruka one more thing he had on his mind, "Haruka-san, I want to check up how the girls are faring in Hinata-Sou, will you come with me right now? I'll be waiting for you outside."

Placing her left hand over her beating heart, Haruka cursed inwardly at how easily Keitaro could slip past her outer defenses without even trying.

_Damn it Haruka! Get a grip of yourself! Why can't I keep control around him like I used to?_

Shaking her head to clear her mind, Haruka walked out of her teashop, locking the front door behind her with the teashop's keys she took out from her khaki pants' right pocket.

"Damn it, Keitaro," she muttered under her breath, "If I wasn't in love with you at the first place, I'd be glad to kick you from behind for making me feel this way."

She turned around to find her nephew waiting for her, about to throw away the cigarette in a nearby trash bin, but hesitated, seeing it to be a waste of an item thrown away without fulfilling its intended purpose. Instead, he handed back the cigarette to her with his free hand.

"Here you go, Haruka-san. It'd be a waste for this to be thrown away. But still, please heed my advice on that matter, okay? I realized it's none of my business to be telling you what you want or not want to do with your life."

Touched by his concern implied in his remark, Haruka felt a little angry at herself as she accepted her cigarette back, then returning it in her cigarette pack.

_Maybe I should really take his advice and cut down on smoking; although, I can't completely kill the habit._

"Thanks, Keitaro," she smiled.

Keitaro smiled sheepishly back, before letting his aunt lead the way on their walk to Hinata-Sou.

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"So, what's in that black suitcase of yours?" Haruka asked with a glance at the said object her nephew was holding by the handle with his right hand. She couldn't help but raise an interested right eye at the peculiar size of the black suitcase; having a size twice as big as a regular suitcase, it seemed to house something large inside.

"This? It's just clothes and necessary travel stuff, there's nothing new about them," Keitaro dismissed his aunt's question with a wave of his left hand.

"Okay," Haruka replied, deciding to stop pressing the question any further and not incur annoyance in her beloved. She decided to change the topic, "So... what have you been doing for the past two years? That certainly was unlikely of you to consider that as a vacation, when you mentioned it in the letter."

Keitaro's eyes shimmered as he felt his mood darkening a bit, but he managed to put up a carefree-manner face. He kept his gaze in front of him, not bothering to glance next at his aunt.

"You could say that I decided to have a drastic life make-over. I can't exactly go into details now, but I just needed a fresh change of pace," he then switched into another topic of discussion looking at his aunt from the corner of his left eye, "How about you? I bet you're still managing to keep Hinata-Sou running well."

Haruka shrugged her shoulders casually, "**-Sigh-** Yeah, you're right about that. I'm stuck handling the businesses of my teashop and Hinata-Sou. But overall, it wasn't bad, and it's enough to keep me busy."

"...That's good to hear."

Ending their conversation, the two Urashimas found themselves in awkward silence, unable to start another conversation. For Haruka, she took the time to steal a peek at her nephew, marveling at the profound change he was sporting now, while Keitaro tried rummaging in his mind for another topic to discuss with his aunt. Eventually, the two Urashimas arrived in front of the main gate of Hinata-Sou, having Haruka pushing it open and allowing them to enter inside. They then traversed the imposing stone steps leading upwards to the said female dormitory. Along the way, Keitaro couldn't help but feel a bit impressed at some of the small changes Hinata-Sou was experiencing, as evident by the sight of clean, small shrines adorning the background.

"Well... I see this place has taken quite a change since my departure. I can't help but feel lost every time I climb up this steps leading to Hinata-Sou. I mean, this place is huge! You could get lost here if you're not careful. Speaking of which," Keitaro playfully nudged his aunt's right side with his left elbow, earning a startled look from her, "Dad used to tell me that you liked to go on treasure hunting during your college years. Maybe we could go on one sometime?"

A bit taken aback, Haruka playfully shoved her nephew back with a gentle push, while looking away from his gaze. Then, her mind went mischievous as she couldn't help but entertain naughty thoughts inwardly.

_Hmm, I like the sound of that. Just Keitaro and I, all alone together, and we could begin exploring... each other. Then, he could roam his hands all over me, and I can return the favor... woah! Bad Haruka, bad! Shame on you! God, I need to get more control over myself whenever I'm around him... he's simply too irresistible!_

Noticing his aunt spaced out again Keitaro shook her right shoulder softly with his free hand, snapping her out of her thoughts and back into reality. He noticed a small embarrassed blush on his aunt's face as she realized her bearings.

"Haruka-san, are you okay? Is something wrong?" he asked concerned.

Haruka shook her head in reply as she dismissed his concern with a wave of her right hand.

"Um... it's nothing... oh! Well, here we are at last!" she exclaimed, trying to divert her nephew's attention to the female dormitory building standing before them as they finally approached it. She walked up to the front door, unlocking it with a spare key, before allowing herself and her nephew inside.

As soon as he stepped inside the living room of Hinata-Sou, Keitaro could feel past memories, good or bad, surfacing in his mind, and they quickly appeared one after another, like having to fast-forward a taped movie to get to a good part a person wanted to see. It all happened in a matter of seconds before he closed his eyes and relished the nostalgic smell of the place he spent a good deal of his _ronin_ years. Opening them, he slowly looked around his surroundings, seeing everything still in place like he left them to be before his supposed 'vacation' two years ago.

_It's still the same dormitory I devoted all my time in maintaining, before I had Aunt Haruka take over my managerial position temporarily. Is it just me, or does it seems everything in here seems spruced up? This sure would take a lot of effort to clean here._

Haruka noticed her nephew's still form, as it seemed rooted to the spot it was standing on. As she noticed mixed emotions flickering in her nephew's eyes, she couldn't help but be drawn to them. She then shook her head to snap herself out of her trance, not wanting to be transfixed by the mesmerizing effect her beloved's dark-brown eyes unknowingly produced. She waited a few seconds to finally speak out, getting her nephew's attention.

"You okay?"

Keitaro nodded to himself as he set down his black suitcase on the sturdy mahogany floor.

"Yeah... it seems quiet in here. I take it the girls are out somewhere?"

"Oh... that, well, they decided to treat Motoko out in the city, as congratulations to her second year in Tokyo University. I was invited to come along, but I had to oversee the teashop for today, so I declined. I heard it was Mitsune's idea for the event, so the rest of the girls pitched in," Haruka stated, folding her arms as she continued maintaining eye contact with her beloved, giving a quick look at his figure from behind up and over. She fought the urge to lick her lips hungrily, opting to enjoy the rest of the eye-candy instead.

_He seems taller than me by a few inches. Since when did he get to be so damn hot? It's amazing to think that his two year disappearance did wonders on him. And what's up with his fashion look? It certainly an attention-getter, not to mention that large, black suitcase he's carrying with him._

Keitaro's ears perked up at the mention of Motoko studying her second year in Tokyo University, and he almost voiced out in slight surprise. The news immediately brought his full attention.

_Motoko is studying her second year in Tokyo University? Funny... I didn't figure she'd be interested in studying college there. This is quite news indeed._

_If that is so, I bet she's getting along well with Naru..._

The mention of his first love dampened Keitaro's spirits, seeing she was partly the reason for taking a sudden two year vacation offered by his archaeological mentor, Seta Noriyasu. Smiling sadly for a second or so, he quickly cheered himself up, seeing it was pointless to mope about past events.

"What's done is done... there's no reason for me to feel down-hearted about her," Keitaro muttered to himself.

Haruka managed to hear the last few words of the above-mentioned remark, "Keitaro? What is it you said?"

"**-Chuckle-** Nothing... just some useless rambling, that's all. Well now," the former Hinata-Sou manager wondered to himself, making up his mind to do something when he first thought of the baths in the female dormitory, "I sure could use a bath. Haruka-san, will you be staying with me here for the meantime? I'd like to ask you to do something for me."

_Oh you could ask anything from me, Keitaro, maybe even more,_ Haruka thought naughtily, finding his remark a bit of a turn-on for a woman of her caliber. Setting aside naughty thoughts involving her and her beloved, she put up her stoic face, unfolding her arms, "Well, sure, I've got nothing else to do for today. What is it you like me to do for you?"

Rubbing his hands before cracking his knuckles, in order to loosen them up, Keitaro eyed his aunt with a smile.

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"Really, everyone, you shouldn't have done this," Motoko Aoyama stated embarrassed as she was escorted by the rest of the Hinata-Sou girls on their way back home. The girls concluded a session of partying in the city, as celebration of Motoko's second year in Tokyo University which was highly suggested by Mitsune Konno, the resident laid-back, party girl, who came up with the idea and found it as an excuse to get everyone involved and start off a celebration of some sort.

_It figures that Mitsune would come up with a scheme like this. But, I sense no hidden agenda she has planned today, unlike past times,_ Motoko warily thought, as she couldn't help but steal a glance at Mitsune from the corner of her eye and with a raised eyebrow.

"You're amazing, Motoko-sempai. You're in your second year now at that university!" Shinobu Maehara, the kind, timid girl, beamed.

"Um... really, it's not that much of a big deal, Shinobu," Motoko replied awkwardly, dismissing the compliment given to her with a wave of her right hand.

"How can you say that? You should be more assertive than this!" Naru Narusegawa admonished the female swordswoman, dismayed at her reluctance to bask in a praise or compliment, especially since today was supposed to be her special day and celebrated by her closest friends in Hinata-Sou. Dressed in the same college uniform as Motoko, it showed she too was enrolled in Tokyo University, taking up a course in Communications and Visual Arts, while Motoko took up a course in law, a course which could suit her nature, given from her strict upbringing to becoming a head master of her family's dojo, the God's Cry School.

"I agree with Naru here, you've got to loosen up once in a while. Otherwise you won't be able to get any interesting guy's attention on you at least! Ugh... watch it Suu! Don't move about too much!" Mitsune protested, as she struggled to maintain balance while carrying Koalla Suu piggy-back style. The said foreign girl of the group bounded up with unexplained energy, and looked to break out of Mitsune's hold at any second.

"Sorry, fox lady!" she apologized excitedly, earning an annoyed scowl from Mitsune, who didn't prefer being addressed in that name. Suu craned her head facing her every-evening bedmate with a smile, "Fight, fight, Motoko! Be happy!"

Motoko opted to roll over her eyes and sigh in defeat, as she and the rest of the girls continued their way back to Hinata-Sou.

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"Wow… this is quite a lunch," Haruka commented as she watched her nephew put the finishing touches in a well-prepared lunch set ready on the dining room table of Hinata-Sou. Readying the last set of silverware, Keitaro wiped his hands in conclusion before giving an assertive nod to his aunt.

"If I wasn't full from having breakfast on my plane trip back here, I'd want to sit and chow down right away. Thanks for your help in preparing this lunch for the girls, Haruka-san. Are you sure you don't want your plate and seat?" he inquired his aunt, who declined his offer with a shake of her head.

"Nah… I'll settle down with just a cup of coffee. Are you on your way to the baths now?"

"Yeah, I think I'll use one right away. Will you be staying here for the meantime?"

"But of course. Otherwise the girls might take this the wrong way, and I have to clear up any misunderstanding. Are you sure you want to do this? It'll be more of a shock to them rather than me."

Keitaro shrugged his shoulders, "Alright. Well, I won't take long."

He turned around and headed for the men's baths section of Hinata-Sou, leaving Haruka gazing wistfully at his retreating form.

_Soon, my beloved, I'll tell you how I feel. But for now, I'll wait._

Taking a last glance at the well-prepared lunch set on the dining room table, Haruka headed towards the kitchen, intent on making a cup of brewed coffee for herself.

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Arriving by the front door of Hinata-Sou, the girls were startled to find it unlocked.

"…Strange, I remember locking the door before we left," Shinobu wondered to herself, reaching out a spare key from her small purse and gazing intently at it then to the unlocked front door.

"Other from Shinobu, there's nobody else who could open this door, or could it?" Mitsune asked the rest of the girls, as she set down Suu, relieving herself of a heavy load bothering her back, "Ow, ow, ow..."

"Wait… maybe Haruka-san opened the door and let herself in. She too has a spare key to this place," Naru concluded, pursing her lips in uncertainty on her assumption.

"Hmm… that maybe so… I doubt a thief would attempt to break in. I doubt there's anything expensive or valuable worth stealing there. And if that is the case, however," Motoko stated, rubbing under her chin in consideration. She unsheathed her personal samurai sword _Shisui_, which she always brought along with her, before glancing around the rest of the girls, "I suggest that everyone stay behind me. We'll enter the inn cautiously."

With that said the rest of the girls huddled close and behind Motoko, who took the lead with weapon in hand and opened the front door slowly. Stepping slowly and cautiously after closing the front door after them, the girls entered the living room and were surprised to find Haruka seated on the couch, watching TV while slowly drinking a cup of coffee.

"Haruka-san…? What are you doing here?" Naru asked incredulously. The rest of the girls mirrored her reaction while eyeing the female Urashima seated before them.

"Oh… you girls came back early. I figured you all would still be out longer, given Mitsune's with you," Haruka stated with a knowing smirk as she set down her cup of coffee on the small glass table before her.

"Heh, heh... we would have stayed out longer, but Motoko here was just anxious to get home," Mitsune rubbed behind her head sheepishly.

Motoko glared at the resident fox lady with a slight blush of embarrassment on her face. Shinobu then noticed the large lunch ready and served on the dining room table, prompting her to cry out surprised and pointing at it with her right hand, getting the rest of the girls' attention.

"What's this? Did you cook all of this for us, Haruka-san?" she asked. Standing behind her (and leaping out of Mitsune's grasp as well) Suu eyed the food hungrily and with an agape mouth. Her tongue wagged out, before licking her lips in anticipation for a hearty meal.

"Uh… well, not exactly, Shinobu. I merely helped out in preparing them for you girls," Haruka replied with her stoic mask on as she got up from her seat.

"Helped? Who was it that you helped in making lunch?" Naru asked.

"Miyu…!" a small squeak was heard, catching everyone's attention in the room. It belonged to the resident hot springs flying turtle, Tama-chan, who was perched on the right shoulder of Keitaro, who was dressed in house clothes and fresh from his bath just now. The former manager of Hinata-Sou donned a simple blue t-shirt, black sweatpants, and slippers. He patted Tama-chan's head affectionately with his left hand before turning attention to the gathered group in the living room.

"Hello, girls, good afternoon," he greeted, and flashed a small smile, which captivated every female in the vicinity. Shaking out of their stupor after several seconds, the girls did a double-take, making sure that they weren't seeing things. Motoko was the first to speak out.

"...Keitaro?"

"Hello, Motoko," the said young man replied. In an instant, he hadn't counted on bracing himself for a group tackle from the girls, as they rushed at him with opened arms and tackled him to the floor.

"KEITARO…!" they exclaimed relieved.

Tama-chan flew up in the air on time, avoiding getting entangled in the scene, "Miyu!"

"**-Sigh-** Welcome back, Keitaro," Haruka stated quietly to herself while smiling at the scene before her.

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**_Time: February 14, 2000 AD, 1:15 PM_**

_**Location: San Francisco, California --- USA**_

A young girl stood in front of an opened front door of a modest house in a quiet neighborhood. Having raven-black hair (tied in a ponytail), dark-purple eyes, and light-peach skin, she bore the resemblance of a typical female teenager. She sported a small sleeveless brown vest worn over a dark-green shirt, an above-knee length peach skirt, and brown leather shoes. Her belongings she carried along with her, a black duffel bag and a small animal cage containing her pet, a black cat named Kuro, were laid next to her right side.

"Are you sure he was last seen here?" the female teen asked the house's only occupant, an elderly man in his 60s.

"Well… the last time I saw him was ten days ago, when he came over to my house for a surprise visit," he replied.

"…Oh… did he say where he'd go? I've been looking for him recently."

"Hmm… well, I'm sorry, but he didn't say exactly where he'd go. By the way, young lady, are you an acquaintance of his? Or maybe a girlfriend, perhaps?" the elderly man wryly grinned. He chuckled heartily as he saw the young girl standing before him blush shyly and shaking her head in protest, "Ah, ho, ho! Just kidding, young lady, but I couldn't help it. Besides, I never figured he'd be the type to attract a lovely girl like you."

The young girl struggled to regain composure while setting her embarrassment aside. Deep down, she wondered if the implied statement from the elderly man came true.

_But… a girl can't stop dreaming, can she? I know for certain that it'd come true for me,_ she smiled at her thought. Snapping out of her thinking, the young girl bowed courteously at the elderly man, concluding their conversation.

"Thank you for your time, sir," she stated.

"Ho, ho… it's my pleasure, young lady. By the way, before you go, can you tell me your name? If Keitaro ever stops by again here in the neighborhood, I'll be sure to let him to know that you're looking for him."

The young girl smiled serenely at the elderly man.

"My name's Kanako. Kanako Urashima."

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**_Time: February 14, 2000 AD, 2:00 PM_**

**_Location: Shibuya District --- Shibuya, Japan_**

"Lyner… come on, this way! There's a new shopping mall open!" Aurica Nestmile forcefully dragged her boyfriend named Lyner Barsett along with her, not giving the unfortunate young man any change to catch his breath. Having long, blonde hair, dark-blue eyes, a fit figure, and around his early 20s, he struck also as handsome to any ladies passing by his way and who couldn't help but stare jealously at his active, bubbly girlfriend.

"Ugh… s-s-slow down, Aurica…! There's no need to rush!" he protested along the way. Today, he had gotten off from a half-day shift of his job as a security guard. He worked directly for a local security agency, which lent their able-bodied guards to various companies for, well, security purposes. He was one of those guards who were assigned to different companies. Sometimes the pay was well-rewarded, depending on the type of company and the security tasks. For him, however, the cons weighed a little more than the pros at his job, as it meant being regulated to 12-hour shifts, and six days a week. The timetable can be demeaning.

For today, he had finished his 12-hour shift at a department store in Shibuya.

Fortunately for him he had run into his girlfriend strolling past by with her best friend, Misha Arsellec Lune, and he was happy to come along and spend quality time with her. Unfortunately for him, as he soon realized, his girlfriend was in a shopping mood, and it meant only one thing: money.

Of course, being a good boyfriend as he was, he now found his money at the hands of his girlfriend.

And ironically enough, today he just received his payday for the month, Y20000 (USD 167.64). It wasn't a bad amount to begin with.

_Why of all times do I get caught up with one of Aurica's shopping sprees,_ Lyner complained inwardly and briefly looked up to the sky for divine intervention to his small dilemma right now.

Pacing herself along with the hurried couple, Misha giggled at the sight of her best friend's boyfriend with a pained cringe on his face. She knew it wasn't the sign of physical pain, but rather, the sign of a small boyfriend-related turmoil, as she once heard Aurica describing about it.

"Lyner is right, Aurica, there's no need to rush. We have the _entire_ day to do lots of things here in the city," she stated to her best friend. She gave herself a mental high-five upon seeing Aurica following her suggestion, as she halted her tracks suddenly. Lyner sounded out a surprised cry as he slowly regained his balance from the sudden stop.

"Hmm… alright, how about we eat first? Where do you guys want to eat?" Aurica asked happily.

"How about we eat at McDonald's? I miss eating burger and fries," Lyner answered, rubbing his empty and grumbling stomach to emphasize his point.

"Sure, that's fine with me. Are you ok with that, Aurica?" Misha asked her best friend, who pursed her lips as she pondered instantly on the offer.

"Ok, we'll eat there!" Aurica agreed, before pulling her boyfriend close to her affectionately. She couldn't help but blush lightly now and then at having physical contact with her boyfriend, "Lyner…! Tell me, how was work today?"

"Well… it wasn't much, just standing guard at a department store and making sure nothing gets stolen. That's pretty much my half-day," Lyner replied sheepishly, rubbing behind his head with his free hand.

Watching the doting couple before her, Misha couldn't help but feel little envious of them. A few years back, Lyner was supposed to be her first love, before finding out later that her best friend beat her to it instead. Torn between personal happiness and her best friend's happiness, she resignedly chose the latter, and the result was this at the present time. After her thoughts on Lyner, she was instantly reminded of the mysterious, but handsome and dashing, stranger she bumped into back at the airport hours ago. Looking at Lyner, she could picture the stranger's face replacing his.

_If only I was able to get his name… now I'll just simply be stuck thinking about him like this,_ she groaned inwardly, feeling a bit peeved at herself for not at least getting the stranger's name before their sudden, short encounter back in the airport.

_But… it was also nice… snuggling up against him. When I was in his arms, I never felt so warm and held caringly._

Misha blushed at the thought, and even more as she slowly remembered the feeling of being held warmly and securely by an attractive, mysterious stranger. Her nose then started up, prompting her to also recall a faint cologne fragrance from the stranger. Suddenly, a weird idea popped into her mind. She turned to Aurica excitedly, startling her best friend a little, "Hey, Aurica, after we're done with lunch, do you think we can stop by Izumi's first? I'm kind of interested in cologne."

"Eh? Um… sure, I guess."

Lyner raised a right eyebrow in interest as he wondered about Misha's statement. There was a universal law among males in Earth that females have a general interest in feminine fragrance. However, for one to take up an interest in cologne, or a male fragrance, it hinted that she's keenly aware in a potential mate. Either that or she's just looking for cologne in a whim.

_Hmm… nah, it's not my business to meddle in girls' affairs. I've already have my hands full in being with Aurica now. Still… there's something about Misha's statement that bugs me._

Shaking the thought off his mind, Lyner made a mental note to look into the matter at another possible time.

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**AFTERNOTES**

_Character Cameos:_

**_Ar Tonelico: Melody of Eternia_** – Lyner Barsett

_Other:_

(As of April 6, 2007) Exchange rate for Japanese Yen to US Dollar --- 1 Y to .008382 USD

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Whew! Well, thankfully the story is off to a slow start. I'm slowly regaining my writing groove, and having been satisfied in completing this next chapter of the story, I'm pleased with myself. Of course there are my other stories to deal with, but I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter of **Changed Leaf** and my **GUNDAM SEED** story **Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Last Impression**.

I thank you longtime readers and fans of this story for putting up with me so far. Once again, I ask for your unwavering (or wavering) patience and support. Your reviews can make a difference between success and failure for me in continuing this story.


	3. Ch2: Unwanted Happenings

**Changed Leaf **

(Formerly known as **A Fragile Love**)

Created by: **Lonely-Avenger **

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**DISCLAIMER: **

**LOVE HINA** is property of Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. and is trademark of TOKYOPOP. The purpose of this story is just for writing enjoyment. Elements of the anime described in this story are borrowed and shaped to the writer's interests. All rights reserved.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE (****April 16, 2007)**

I'm relieved that are more readers liking this story. I guess I haven't lost completely my writing groove. Whew! Anyhow, I managed to come up with this next chapter for the story, not out of rush, but rather as a possible teaser for the next chapter.

Oh yes, and to the following people:

**Soul Teller: **Answering your Misha question, Misha is in her true adult form in this story. There's also the prospect of using her child form as an additional character in this story to consider… but, I'm still pondering about it. For now, I'm ok leaving Misha in her true adult form.

**Keikun4283:** You haven't tried **_Ar Tonelico: Melody of Eternia_** yet? It's a recommended RPG to play. From there, you should be able to learn more about the borrowed characters from the game and why I'm using them for this story.

**Hayn Quicksilva:** Sorry for leaving you hanging on the very first chapter of the story, but my mind was still jumbled up from having to come up with a proper start of the plot. But never fret, more chapters are to come in later dates!

**Jamez: **Why did I involve Misha in this story? At first, I decided to include her in the story (along with some of the **_Ar Tonelico: Melody of Eternia_** cast) on a whim. I liked her character a lot in the game, and after painstakingly viewing all three Reyvateils' endings from the game, a weird idea sprang into my mind. And voila! I decided to add her and Shurelia as possible additions in a harem for Keitaro in the story. I think Misha deserves some definite happiness and spending it with a deserved guy (Lyner just wouldn't do, in my opinion; not that I hate the guy, but he strikes to me as the most dense guy having three females after him, jeez! His character in the game really needs more improvements).

**Blue Bragon: **Keitaro's job...? Honestly, I haven't come up with a definite one yet... am still debating on it. But his job will be revealed in further chapters of the story.

Seeing that I had no possible suggestions from you readers regarding Shurelia's last name lately, I decided to use the word **Platina **for it instead! Actually, now that I think about it, the word really associates her with her role involved in that place in **_Ar Tonelico: Melody of Eternia_**.

The harem list is on hold for now. I'll wait and see how this story goes, and I might start bringing possible love interests for everyone's favorite female dorm manager and three-time _ronin_.

Without further ado, on to the story!

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**Summary: **

Keitaro Urashima, 21-year old manager of Hinata-Sou, grows weary of his managerial duties and seeks a fresh change of life, leaving Hinata-Sou. Taking a 2-year vacation in the USA offered by Seta, he then comes back to Japan as a changed man. Unknown to him, his new self would have a startling effect on many women, especially the Hinata-Sou girls...

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**Chapter 2: Unwanted Happenings **

_Word_ denotes character thought

**_Word_** denotes time and setting

"Word" denotes character speech

**_"Word"_** denotes flashback speech

**-Word-** denotes sound effect

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**_Time: _****_February 14, 2000 AD, _****_3:00 PM_**

**_Location: Hinata-Sou --- _****_Hinata District, _****_Japan_**

"Lunch was delicious, Keitaro! Where did you learn how to make these?" Suu chimed excitedly, after the rest of the girls helped themselves to the readied lunch prepared by Keitaro (and with help from Haruka).

"It's nothing great, really. They're just simple western-style food I learned to cook for myself during my stay in USA," Keitaro modestly replied, rubbing behind his head with his right hand and a small smile.

"I… I have to agree with Suu here, it was satisfactory," Motoko commented after patting her lips clean with a provided napkin. She couldn't bring herself to look directly at Keitaro in the eye, as she found mixed emotions boiling slowly inside of her.

_It has been two years since he left… but why did he decide to come back now? He has… definitely changed, to say the least. _

She stole a quick peek at the former dorm manager before looking back at her folded hands rested on her lap in embarrassment.

_He's grown to be handsome for sure. I don't recall him growing taller by a few inches. He also ditched his eyeglasses as well. And his figure… it seems rather built. _

The female swordsman blushed at the thought as she reprimanded herself for allowing naughty thoughts to cloud in her mind.

Meanwhile, the rest of the girls were also coming to grips in adjusting themselves to the profound change the dorm manager sported. Save for Haruka, who was slowly getting used to them and relished Keitaro as eye-candy now and then, they each were forming their own thoughts about him.

Naru couldn't help but feel awed by the new look her considered 'promised boy' sported. The Keitaro she knew back then was an average-looking guy, and could be like any other hot-blooded male when it came to the magic of the opposite sex.

_Keitaro… is it really you? You're… different from the person I used to remember before. _

Mitsune was intrigued, to say the least. She felt like she was slapped on the face and being given a total wake-up call in the form of the unexpected arrival of Keitaro. She couldn't help but lick her lips in anticipation as she sized up the former dorm manager from head to toe.

_Mmm… talk about instant makeover… he sure is hot! When has this hunk been working out? Hell, even his smile is so attractive! He'd better stop smiling often, or I'll be sure to lose any self-control I have left to jump at him. _

After finishing up her lunch, Suu started to form her own ingenious plans involving new range of gadgets to test out on the unsuspecting former dorm manager. While pondering on that thought, she rubbed underneath her chin with her right hand and eyed Keitaro intently.

_Hmm… there's something about Keitaro I can't put my finger on. Sure, he looks different now, but… it's like he's got some sort of vibe that's making him intriguing. Alright then! I'm set to find out what that is! _

Shinobu felt like she was in a dream, being in the same room as her first crush; she had to pinch herself several times just to bring herself back to reality. Seeing her beloved _sempai_ back in the female dorm after his unexpected departure lifted her spirits. Not to mention noticing how dreamy and appealing he was up close.

_Keitaro-sempai, will you be staying here for good? I don't think I can bear the thought of you leaving Hinata-Sou again. You've become more handsome than you were the first time I met you. _

She blushed at the last sentence of her thought and resumed her attention to Keitaro, who seemed to be enjoying everyone's company in the room. A faint laugh sounded out from his lips after sharing a small chat with Motoko, and inquiring about her recent education in Tokyo University. Everyone else in the room couldn't help but feel a little awed by the pleasant sound of his laugh, and flushed little with embarrassment.

"I see. So that's how it came to be then, huh. Well, I congratulate you, Motoko, on your progress so far. I'm sure your sister Tsuruko would be proud of you," Keitaro commented to the said female swordsman, after placing down his finished cold glass of ice-tea on the dining room table.

"T-Thank you… Urashima," Motoko replied with a stammered smile, having felt embarrassed again by the statement directed at her.

"Um… Keitaro…? I, no, we were wondering about one thing from you… are you staying here for good?" Naru voiced out the anticipated question on behalf of everyone in the room, including Haruka, who was glad that the question was out.

Feeling everyone's gaze directed at him and also their anxiety awaiting his reply, Keitaro folded his arms, and slowly looked around everyone gathered in the room. Letting his gaze linger a few seconds long at Naru, he pushed aside a small ache in his heart before he came up with his reply.

"...No, I'm afraid I can't."

"EH…?" the Hinata-Sou girls exclaimed, disappointed and shocked. Haruka chuckled to herself inwardly at their reaction, but also felt the same way. A small pang of fear struck her heart, and she eyed her beloved intently.

_Keitaro… please don't say that you're leaving again. I don't know what I'd do if you go. _

Unfolding his arms, Keitaro casually shrugged his shoulders, before shaking his head with a sad smile. He silenced further protests with his right hand before answering, "No… to clear things up, I don't intend to stay back here in the dorm. I'll be staying over in my aunt's teashop instead, and temporary. I have some business to take care of here in Japan."

The sight of the Hinata-Sou girls' sad reactions almost touched him and made him regret his answer, but Keitaro stood firm.

_No… if I stay back here in the dorm, then what was the point of returning back here? I don't mean to raise the girls' hopes up; besides, I'd disappoint Aunt Haruka as well, seeing that she was ok letting me stay over in her teashop._

Haruka could see her beloved fighting a mental battle against his self, judging by the look of his eyes. Beneath her stoic mask she put out in front, she was dismayed and disappointed to hear the word 'temporary' from his statement as well.

_Could it be that he's uncomfortable staying over in the dorm like before? Yet, I get the feeling that it maybe so. But, I didn't like hearing the word 'temporary'. Oh, Keitaro… you're really making this hard for me. _

Feeling the atmosphere in the room getting stuffy and uncomfortable, Keitaro berated himself for being the source of it. He cleared his voice, getting everyone's attention once more, "I'm sorry for disappointing you, everyone, I'm sure you're still not used to my sudden return. It's not that I don't like staying over here in the dorm once again, but it's just that, well… I'm used to staying over in my new home back in USA. I guess it's just a bit of culture shock for me."

"So, what's your new place like there in America? What have you been for the past two years since you surprisingly left us? Why go there at the first place?" Mitsune started grilling questions directed at the former dorm manager. Everyone else in the room instantly shared her curiosity implied in her questions, and looked intently at Keitaro, who was taken aback by the sudden interest of his two year departure. He sighed inwardly to himself.

_Well, that's to be expected. I guess the girls couldn't help but know what I've been doing during my stay in __USA._

Keitaro stood up from his seat, while keeping attention at the inquisitive females seated before him. He motioned his right hand pointing at the living room.

"Okay, I'll answer some of your questions, girls. But first," he turned his gaze at Shinobu, who was happy to receive his attention, "Shinobu, can you help me gather up these dirty dishes? I'll require your help washing them in the kitchen."

"Um… s-sure, Keitaro-sempai…! I'd be happy to!" Shinobu replied with a nervous smile.

Keitaro nodded affirmatively at her, before looking back at everyone else in the room, "Except Shinobu, everyone, please gather around in the living room first. I'll answer your questions as best as I can, okay?"

Everyone else in the dining room nodded in agreement, before leaving their seats to gather in the living room, leaving Keitaro and Shinobu to deal with the dirty dishes in need of cleaning. Gathering up and balancing a small pile of dirty dishes, Keitaro motioned Shinobu to follow suit, before entering the kitchen.

Before joining up with the others, Naru took a glance at Keitaro's retreating form entering the kitchen.

_Keitaro… _

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"Um… Keitaro-sempai…?" Shinobu called out suddenly, as she and Keitaro were in the midst of washing dirty dishes used from today's lunch in the kitchen.

"Hmm…? What is it, Shinobu?" Keitaro asked, taking a second's glance at the said young girl while he rinsed off a washed plate in the kitchen sink and placed it in the dish drainer lain close to him.

Feeling her shyness taking over her, Shinobu would have played around with her fingers in nervousness, hadn't they were currently used in washing the next set of dirty dishes in the kitchen sink. The nervousness she felt wasn't one which happened when being around strangers, but rather, it was one that happened when given an opportunity talking alone with your crush. She found herself unable to come up with a sentence to strike up a conversation with her first crush standing close to her and help cleaning the dishes.

Unaware what his next move could affect the nervous young girl standing next him, Keitaro scooted himself close to Shinobu, closing the very small gap between them, and had his left arm touched her right arm, brushing skin against skin.

"Are you trying to say something, Shinobu?" he asked.

Needless to say, Shinobu felt her cheeks redden a bit as she felt her skin brushed against her crush's skin (well, his exposed left arm to be exact). Adding more heat to that effect was the very close proximity she and her sempai were at, and she could feel his breath lightly touching her face. She looked almost to faint and go to heaven that she dropped the plate she was washing in the bubbly-soaped filled kitchen sink.

**-CLUNK- **

Hearing the sudden noise from the dropped plate, Shinobu jumped a bit, startled by the noise, while Keitaro reached out for the dropped plate, bringing it in view to check for damages. Satisfied seeing none, he gingerly gave it back to Shinobu, who hurriedly washed the plate and handed it to him for final cleaning.

"Shinobu, are you alright? You look spaced-out a while ago," Keitaro asked concerned, after he placed the cleaned plate in the dish drainer.

"Oh… um, yes, sempai, I'm fine," Shinobu shyly looked away from the former dorm manager for several seconds (feeling embarrassed from her reverie just now), before she glanced back at him with gathered courage, "Sempai… do you hate us? Did… we hurt you to make you leave us two years ago?"

Seeing Shinobu looking ashamed by her questions, Keitaro dried his wet hands, using the apron he was wearing, before he placed his left hand on her right shoulder while bringing her face slowly by the chin with his other hand, making her look directly at him. He gazed sincerely at her, "Shinobu… I know what you're thinking, but no, I don't hate any of you girls. You weren't the reason I left you suddenly back then."

"…Really?"

Keitaro sighed tiredly while patting Shinobu's right shoulder to reassure her from doubt. He allowed his lips to form a small, genuine smile for the young girl facing him, "…I'll tell you all the details after we're done with these dishes, ok?"

Shinobu nodded gladly in reply.

_I trust you, sempai. _

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Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the female dorm, a small group of black-cloaked figures numbering thirteen in total stealthily approached the outside premises. Their agile, swift movements carried them further inside the building, and coupled with a surprising skill to blend in with the environment despite the color of their attire, it'd be foolish to view them as normal. The group then stopped at the courtyard area.

Amongst them, a tall figure stepped forth, letting his eyes absorb any necessary detail of his surroundings. It was apparent that he was the group leader, for he slowly stretched out his right arm waving his right, while his left arm did the same action for the opposite direction. Immediately, the rest of the black-cloaked group gathered attentively behind him split off at his intended pointed directions, disappearing instantly.

The group leader slowly craned his neck upwards, allowing him to see the sight of Hinata-Sou up-close and personal as it could get for unwelcome visitors such as him and his group.

"…The hand of judgment shall claim you now, Keitaro Urashima," he uttered darkly.

A second after he then vanished into thin air like his subordinates.

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**_Time: _****_February 14, 2000 AD, _****_3:15 PM_**

**_Location: Shibuya District --- _****_Shibuya, _****_Japan_**

Inside the department store Izumi, known for its wide range of cosmetics, perfumes, skin-care products, clothes, and other feminine apparel highly revered by females nationwide, Aurica and Misha were enjoying themselves, immensely treating themselves to shopping for the latest products the store offered. Dragged resignedly along with them, Lyner groaned inwardly in protest.

_Damn, what kind of pace are they at? One minute they hurry to a section and try out some make-up product and the next they go to another section! Women… what is it about them that makes shopping such an exercise for us guys? _

Minutes later, the unfortunate young man found himself carrying several shopping bags on both hands. He thanked himself for having a fitness regimen to adhere because of his job, but he could have sworn these bags weighed _heavy_.

"Lyner…! Here, please carry this! You were right to shop here first, Misha! How did you get to pick this place?" Aurica beamed at her shopping companion after she quickly deposited another shopping bag filled with new clothes to her boyfriend, who dejectedly accepted it.

"Well, I heard about this place through an ad placed on the newspaper, and its debut opening was today! So, I figured we be one of the first shoppers to explore this department store," Misha replied while carrying two shopping bags of her own on her right hand. She took a brief glance at Lyner, noticing the tired expression on his face, "Lyner? What's wrong?"

"Oh, ah… nothing…! It was just a slow guard shift today for me," he fibbed. Noticing the worried expression on his girlfriend's face directed at him, Lyner posed macho, displaying supposed renewed vigor, "See? I'm fine! Heh, heh… so, continue on shopping ladies."

"Hmm… ok, if you say so, Lyner! So, shall we continue, Misha? Oh yeah, how about I help you out with that cologne you told me you're looking for? Maybe we can find it here in this store?" Aurica wondered, turning her attention to her best friend, who giggled inwardly at seeing the real, depleted state of vigor Lyner was now, after seeing his girlfriend's gaze turned to another direction.

"Thanks, Aurica. I'm sorry I bothered you over this."

Aurica looked at her best friend with a raised left eyebrow before her expression switched into a mischievous one, "Cologne, eh? Isn't that perfume for guys? This is the first time I've heard you looking for one. Tell me is it for some guy in particular?"

A tinge of pink etched on Misha's cheeks as she was unable to protest. Seeing her reaction, Aurica was delighted, and let out a girlish squeal that really garnered attention while taking hold of her best friend's hands and shaking them wildly, "Oh my god! So I'm right? Spill, spill the details!"

While Misha twiddled with her fingers and looked down at the floor embarrassed, Lyner couldn't help but express her feeling, as he noticed some curious looks from passing shoppers directed towards his girlfriend. He slapped himself on the face with his right hand, while letting out a disappointed groan.

_She didn't have to go into that mode right now… oh man, why? _

Misha could feel several gazes boring down at her, and she knew her embarrassment would prolong further if she didn't act. Taking sudden action, she stared back at her excited best friend, silencing her to be quiet with her right forefinger on her lips, "Aurica! Please… keep it down. Everyone's looking at us."

A sweatdrop would be on top of Aurica's head as she realized her bearings. Giving a sheepish smile and wave at the curious shoppers, she then reverted to her bubbly self, but maintained a hint of intrigue seen in her eyes, "Tell me, Misha, who is it?"

"**-Sigh-** Ok, I'll tell you, but only if you keep still and quiet," Misha replied quietly, not wanting to arouse more excitement for her best friend. She cupped her hands around Aurica's left ear and sank her voice in a clear, audible whisper, "It's that guy who rescued me from falling to the floor back at the airport several hours ago."

"**-Gasp-** Really? Was it that guy dressed in all-white clothing?" Aurica wondered with an agape mouth. She assumed a thinking pose by placing her right forefinger on her chin while pursing her lips, "Wow… even though he dresses weird, he's definitely a find. But, why him…? I mean, we only just bumped into a complete stranger!"

Overhearing a little of the girls' conversation, Lyner couldn't help but allow his curiosity taking over him and decided to eavesdrop close, feigning window-shopping.

"This may sound weird… but… there's something interesting about him, even though we just accidentally bumped into each other back then. I can't explain this very well, but this is how I'm feeling about him," Misha replied earnestly, then looked worried at her best friend, "Is it bad to feel this way?"

Aurica pursed her lips, coming up with a positive reply, "…Strange, but mysterious, that's what I think. Speaking as a friend, I guess you're following what your heart tells you. That's okay," she then patted her best friend's shoulders reassuringly, "But why cologne for a present…?"

Misha shook her head furiously, "No, no, I was only looking for cologne that… reminded of him. I figured," she pursed her lips to choose the right words, "I'd at least give him a present for saving me back there in the airport."

"Eh?" was all Lyner could utter as he raised both his eyebrows in amazement after hearing intently the remark. He shook his head in wonder.

_Okay… that was a weird explanation, but it suits her situation nonetheless. Hmm… hearing more about this mystery guy is starting to intrigue me too. I wonder what he's like… _

Misha could have sworn she saw stars in Aurica's eyes as she gushed happily for her, "Misha, that's _so _romantic! Well… if it's the other way around, and the guy asking you out instead of giving you a present to remind you how you first met, that is. But, I'm happy for you! Come on, where do we start looking for your mystery man's cologne?"

"Eh…? Um… obviously in the perfume section of this store…?" Misha pointed out the obvious answer, feeling a sweatdrop on top of her head.

"This way then…! Lyner, hurry up!" Aurica then dragged along her best friend by her right hand, not giving her time to protest. The two girls next went over to the perfume section of the department store, leaving Lyner behind.

"**-Sigh-** Hey girls, wait up!" Lyner exclaimed before he started going after his girlfriend's trail with filled shopping bags in hand.

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**_Time: _****_February 14, 2000 AD, _****_3:30 PM_**

**_Location: Tokyo District --- _****_Tokyo, _****_Japan_**

Inside one of the city's sprawling apartment buildings, an exhausted Shurelia Platina plopped down on a comfy bed of her apartment. She thanked the gods that her flight attendant shift was done for this month. The 5'8", long, white-haired beauty kicked off her white short heels, exposing her aching panty-hose covered feet, while she allowed her slim, creamy legs dangling on the edge of her bed. Feeling too tired to strip her flight attendant attire and change into her house clothes, Shurelia then changed her mind as she realized she needed a fresh shower. Her clear, crystal-blue eyes fixed themselves on her bedroom ceiling as she delved into her thoughts.

_I wonder how Aurica and Misha are doing... knowing Aurica, she'd probably take Misha first for shopping. That silly girl… _

She giggled at the thought, before her thoughts turned to a different one involving the mysterious stranger from the airport who was bumped into accidentally by Misha. She recalled his words before he parted ways with her and the other girls.

**_"I'm sorry, but I must take my leave now. And also, this belongs to you. Do take care next time... I wouldn't want to see a lady like you get hurt." _**

She tried zooming in on the stranger's face, managing to get a short, clear picture of it before he turned around and parted ways. From that viewpoint, she could sense that he too was looking at her for a short while, and she blushed slightly for having realized it sooner. Yet, there was something about his eyes she suddenly became aware of from that memory.

_His eyes… they seem somewhat cold. I get the sense that they're holding something unexplainable and interesting in him… _

Shurelia shrugged off the thought from her mind, knowing it wasn't healthy to be thinking much for today. She decided to focus on her task in hand, which was first to get a much-needed shower. As she slowly got up from her bed, her right hand accidentally and carelessly knocked off a small male angel statue from the small drawer lain next to her bed. The statue was a replica of a small male angel, dressed in battle armor with a small sword and shield on its hands, while twin wings sprouted from its back, giving it a slight majestic feel.

**-CRACK- **

Within seconds, the small male angel statue crumbled to the floor with a sounding small shatter, indicating damage. Reprimanding herself for her sudden, tired action, Shurelia bent down to the floor and gingerly picked up the small male angel statue. Her mouth suddenly went slightly agape with shock upon noticing the statue's damage --- both its wings were broken off. She looked down at the broken wings lain on the floor, then picking them up with her free hand. She glanced slowly back and forth between the wings and the statue.

"The statue is intact, but without its wings. Could this mean… an omen?" she wondered to herself. She then felt a cold foreboding creeping through her back, making her shiver slightly.

_I have a bad feeling about this… _

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**_Time: _****_February 14, 2000 AD, _****_3:35 PM_**

**_Location: Hinata-Sou --- _****_Hinata District, _****_Japan_**

After finishing up with the dishes and cleaning the dining table, Keitaro motioned everyone in the living room to wait up a bit longer, as he wanted to check his personal belongings (which were still locked up in his black suitcase) in his former managerial room in the building. Seeing a positive response from everyone, he headed upstairs to his temporary room. A few seconds after he stepped inside his room, he felt a cold chill creeping through his body.

_Imminent danger... I haven't felt like this for a long time since then…? _

Before he could finish the last sentence of his thought, his eyes instantly widen as a dreaded realization kicked in. He immediately tensed his body in alert, while his eyes darted back and forth, looking around his room. As he quietly reached his hands to open his black suitcase, Shinobu surprisingly appeared in view, since he left his sliding door open and expected himself to leave the room shortly.

"Sempai…? Can I come in?" Shinobu asked for permission. She looked peculiarly at her first crush standing still and quiet, while slowly opening his black suitcase, which also caught her interest.

"…Shinobu… please listen to me. There's something important I need to tell you," Keitaro quietly stated, glancing slowly and fully at the said young girl standing before him, as he fully opened his black suitcase, which revealed a small bundle of spare clothes he stashed for his trip back home.

Shinobu felt her heart quicken several beats as she felt anticipation flowing in her, "Um… sure. W-What is it?"

_Is he going to… confess to me? It's just like in my dreams! _

Keitaro's hands took out two sheathed samurai swords hidden beneath a secret spot in his black suitcase. Gleamed in obsidian sheaths (with also a small insignia of a cross etched similar to the one displayed on the back of his white overcoat previously, except colored white), the two swords revealed their long length and brilliant shade of silver hidden within. Lacking a proper hilt, the length of the swords mirrored the same length as Keitaro's arms by more than a few inches. Commonly known as _nodachi_, the swords were one of Keitaro's personal weapons he brought with him from his two-year trip.

Seeing her sempai with the said weapons in hand, Shinobu looked at them then to Keitaro in alarm, "Sempai…? What are you…?"

Her words were instantly cut off as the former dorm manager slowly approached menacingly at her and lowered his weapons pointing their tips on the floor.

Frightened by his sudden behavior, Shinobu could only stare at Keitaro in shock, while her feet were glued to the floor by fear.

_W-W-What are you doing... s-s-sempai?_


	4. Ch3: Cleaning House

**Changed Leaf**

(Formerly known as **A Fragile Love**)

Created by: **Lonely-Avenger**

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**DISCLAIMER:**

**LOVE HINA** is property of Ken Akamatsu/Mixx Entertainment Inc. and is trademark of TOKYOPOP. The purpose of this story is just for writing enjoyment. Elements of the anime described in this story are borrowed and shaped to the writer's interests. All rights reserved.

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**AUTHOR'S NOTE (May 10, 2007)**

Finally, I managed to come up with this big update, and it has taken me weeks racking up my brain in constructing the chapter's plot flow, and also formatting it right.

I apologize for the unusual and late times of the story's updates, but time in my OJT has taken its toll on me now and then, and I sometimes resign myself to the seductive lullaby of sleep.

But still, I persist in continuing this story. I'm afraid the story's flow will come slow in upcoming chapters, so I'm experimenting with several ideas involving characters from various video games I've played. If you're asking if this story will turn out to be a crossover, then yes it will be, but not a massive one as dreaded.

As always, readers, reviews are much welcome. Any questions to be addressed will be answered in the next chapter.

With that said, enjoy the chapter!

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**Summary:**

Keitaro Urashima, 21-year old manager of Hinata-Sou, grows weary of his managerial duties and seeks a fresh change of life, leaving Hinata-Sou. Taking a 2-year vacation in the USA offered by Seta, he then comes back to Japan as a changed man. Unknown to him, his new self would have a startling effect on many women, especially the Hinata-Sou girls...

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**Chapter 3: Cleaning House**

_Word_ denotes character thought

_**Word**_ denotes flashback speech

_**Word**_ denotes time and setting

"Word" denotes character speech

**-Word-** denotes sound effect

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_**Time: February 14, 2000 AD, 3:35 PM**_

_**Location: Hinata-Sou; Hinata District, Japan**_

Fear was something Shinobu rarely encountered; save for a memory of her parents' unhappy divorce (which eventually landed her living as a tenant in Hinata-Sou two years ago), she wasn't one to dwell in negative emotions more than normal like the average person.

But unfortunately, the shy, timid girl found her self standing rooted to the floor of Keitaro's temporary room by a cold gaze directed from her crush's twin dark-brown eyes, as he quietly approached her with threatening weapons in hand. Shinobu's thoughts ran wild as she tried coming up with a better explanation for her crush's peculiar behavior.

_What's he going to do with those swords? Why is he looking at me like that? He's scaring me… _

"Shinobu…" Keitaro uttered to the said young girl, as he stepped closer to her with both his sheathed _nodachi_ in hand.

Despite her body's natural instinct telling her to flee immediately, Shinobu mustered little courage to stay put and see what her crush intended to do to her.

"S-S-Sempai…?" she stammered.

Before he took the last step to close the small distance between his self and Shinobu, Keitaro narrowed his gaze at her, scaring the young girl more, before he uttered something off-guard to her.

"Get down!" he commanded, then turning his cold gaze to the empty space of the hallway behind Shinobu and instantly rushed forward.

_There…! _

Obeying his command by reflex, Shinobu barely brought herself falling hard to the oak-polished floor of her crush's temporary room while using her hands to soften the impact and covering above her head after. She then turned around and glanced up, seeing a black-cloaked figure appearing instantly before her eyes and wielding wicked, twin curved daggers that popped out from within the figure's long sleeves. The figure poised for the kill, directing its focus on the defenseless Shinobu; however, it hardly had a second to attack when its form was quickly stabbed through the heart by Keitaro's twin nodachi.

**-PIERCE-**

At the next second, Keitaro pulled out his twin nodachi from the black-cloaked figure's stabbed chest and delivered an x-shaped slash at the same time, cutting open its dark clothing slightly and revealing a faint, red-traced x marked on its entire chest.

**-SHWAK-**

The black-cloaked figure and Keitaro stood eerily still, with the latter then taking a step back and shielding the defenseless Shinobu for an attack from the former.

A startled gasp sounded from Shinobu as she witnessed a mysterious black-cloaked figure being killed in an instant by her crush before her eyes. Her eyes widened further upon seeing the black-cloaked figure suddenly dropped its twin curved daggers and crumbled to the floor back first.

**-THUD-**

Needless to say, Shinobu was instantly shaken by her wits; feeling her body course with shock, she did the only natural thing she could do in a life-threatening situation such as this.

She screamed.

Slightly shocked by her outburst, Keitaro proceeded to gather the frightened girl in his arms and comfort her. Unbeknownst to him, his senses were too focused on Shinobu, while not detecting another black-cloaked figure appearing instantly in view from behind him with twin wicked, curved daggers in hand and poised to deliver the fatal blow to the former female dorm manager.

"Shinobu, it's okay, you're safe," Keitaro cooed the said frightened girl, kneeling down next her and about to gather her in a protective embrace. As she broke off eye contact with her crush in her frightened state, she then noticed another black-cloaked figure sneak up on her crush from behind. Her eyes widened alarmingly.

"KEITARO-SEMPAI!" she screamed.

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A loud shriek of the former dorm manager's name being called sounded from upstairs, catching the attention of the other occupants gathered in the living room downstairs. They instantly stood up from their seats in alarm.

"What was that scream just now?!" Mitsune asked, feeling the hairs on her skin stand up.

"…Was that Shinobu? Has something happened to her?" Haruka wondered aloud. Before the group of females could proceed forward to investigate, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by black-cloaked figures, which instantly appeared out of thin air like ghosts. The figures drew out twin curved daggers from within their black sleeves, brandishing them in view.

Alarmed by the sudden appearance of intruders, Motoko hustled the rest of the girls in a protective circle sticking close to each other and unsheathed her samurai sword, _Shisui_. Taking up a battle stance, she darted her eyes from left to right, quickly gauging her opponents.

"Intruders… but how did they get inside here instantly?" she muttered to herself. Her senses kicked up high upon detecting the level of the unknown intruders' _ki_, or spiritual energy. Her eyes narrowed alarmingly as she felt a menacing surge emanating from the unknown intruders.

_They wield such a dark strength… like they were tainted by evil… are they assassins?_

"Whoa… what the heck is going on? Who are these creeps?" Mitsune asked confusingly the female swordsman of the group and standing close next to her right side. She felt her right arm being gripped tightly by Naru, who had her own right arm held tight by a frightened Suu. Haruka outstretched her arms acting as a shield to cover the ambushed group of females.

"Uninvited guests, to put it simply, Mitsune," Haruka replied, eyeing the unknown intruders warily. She assumed a fighting stance, which surprised everyone in the room off-guard. The black-cloaked assailants tensed up immediately, gripping tightly their drawn weapons.

"Haruka-san… you can fight?" Motoko asked with a raised left eyebrow, glancing at the female Urashima from the corner of her left eye.

Haruka smirked in reply, but inwardly, she reprimanded herself, having felt insecure on her minor fighting skills.

_I just hope I can still remember some of the basics father taught me._

The fact of the matter was that Haruka could fend for herself, strictly speaking in terms of basic fighting skill. During her teenage years, she was taught a self-defensive fighting style by her father, Keisuke Urashima, who dubbed it "Urashima Style". As the name obviously suggests, emphasis was placed basically on the importance of self-defense and non-killing. Despite the strict forbidding of killing, the fighting style was considered formidable by those unfortunate to cross its path.

For Haruka, she learned the basics of her family's fighting style, and in no time was able to grasp quickly. To her father, she was deemed to have a huge fighting potential, and wanted to personally continue her training. But unfortunately, Haruka shown no further interest in developing her family fighting style, and was only content in learning the basics enough to defend herself.

The female Urashima didn't have the faintest idea to instantly recall her training until she found herself immersed in a threatening situation happening to her now.

"…Interesting… the Urashima and Shinmei-Ryu styles… this is delightful," commented the black-cloaked assailants' leader as he stepped forth with folded arms, appearing out of thin air like his cohorts. The females in the room were startled by his appearance, while the battle-ready ones (namely Haruka and Motoko) steeled themselves for battle.

"What's your business here in Hinata-Sou?" Haruka questioned coldly.

The assailants' leader chuckled slightly underneath his mask and extended his gloved right hand in a mocking gesture at the surrounded females, "Keitaro Urashima is marked for death by my superior. But," he paused, taking a second's glance at Motoko and suddenly eyed back Haruka with a deadly glint in his eyes, "I'm afraid I can't allow you all to bear witness to his demise. I'm merely following orders."

"What has Urashima to do with you people?" Motoko demanded an explanation from the assailants' leader, who didn't bother to reply. Instead he snapped his right fingers, signaling his cohorts to attack. Before they could close in for the kill…

**-CRASH-**

Suddenly a dead body of one of their comrades was flung hard from upstairs and crashed down to the living room like a rag doll before coming to a complete stop with a sickening thud. Judging from his hunched up form, his neck seemed snapped, while a menacing x-shaped wound was etched on its chest and its front clothes cut open.

The surrounded Hinata-Sou ladies gasped shockingly at the sight.

The assailants' leader narrowed his gaze at his subordinate's dead body. He motioned two of his cohorts in the living room to examine their fallen comrade's form, but paused alarmingly at the sound of footsteps coming downstairs. Instead the leader directed his selected cohorts to the supposed arrival. At his command, they withdrew from within their cloaks two pairs of large, sharp _shuriken_ and poised waiting to hurl them at the unfortunate target… who happened to be Keitaro.

"…What the…?" he mouthed as he stepped down on the living room floor, appearing in plain sight. No sooner had he uttered his words when four pairs shuriken instantly latched onto him --- one on his forehead, two on his chest, and one on his right thigh --- killing him.

**-CHWAK- -CHWAK- -CHWAK- -CHWAK-**

The former dorm manager staggered shockingly like a drunkard before his form collapsed to the floor, lying back first.

"KEITARO!" the surrounded Hinata-Sou ladies exclaimed horrifyingly. Their impulse to run to Keitaro's fallen form was cut short as their unknown assailants surrounding them inched closer, immediately stopping them in their tracks. Tears slowly poured from their eyes as they stood helplessly, witness the demise of the former dorm manager.

The assailants' leader shook ruefully his head before shrugging his shoulders, "Tsk, tsk… not how I quite envisioned his demise, but this will do. You've gotten careless, Keitaro Urashima."

"You bastard…!" Haruka cried out angrily while clenching her hands into shaky fists.

"You'll pay for this outrage!" Motoko chimed, sharing the same feeling and gripping _Shisui_ tightly.

The assailants' leader turned his attention back to the surrounded Hinata-Sou ladies, eyeing them nonchalantly. Placing his hands behind his back, he concluded, "You shall all join him very soon, I guarantee that. Eliminate them."

Giving his command to his cohorts, the leader stepped back, awaiting the impending slaughter of the surrounded Hinata-Sou ladies. As the rest of the assailants closed in for the kill, their two shuriken-wielding comrades joined in the fray.

Turning their backs to Keitaro's fallen form, they suddenly felt another presence stepping in between them and pushing them slightly aside.

…

Their eyes widen at the sight of their dead comrade (who was previously thrown downstairs like a rag doll) standing upright before them. The next moment they were instantly stabbed through the heart by their dead comrade, who used his dual wicked-looking daggers to do the deed, not bothering to look back and leaving his weapons embedded in place.

**-SHWAK-**

As their crumpled forms crashed loudly to the floor, alerting everyone's attention, the 'dead' assailant flexed his hands. The assailants' leader stared disbelievingly at his supposed 'dead' subordinate then down to his shuriken-wielding subordinates now killed instantly out of the blue.

"H-H-Holy… what the hell…!" Mitsune stammered, pointing a shaky right forefinger at the 'dead' assailant.

"Wasn't he like… dead… just now?" Naru spoke to herself with a twitching right eyebrow. Scared and clutching her by the waist close like a teddy bear, Suu couldn't help but stare curiously at the 'dead' assailant standing before her.

"…I find this quite hard to swallow," Haruka commented with her usual stoic face.

"I agree with you there, Haruka-san," Motoko added.

"Impossible… what manner of trickery is this?" the assailants' leader wondered. Shaking off his disbelief, he angrily gestured two of his remaining cohorts surrounding the Hinata-Sou ladies, "You two! Finish him off now!"

Obeying his command, the two selected assailants charged at their 'dead' comrade with their wielded dual daggers in hand.

Sidestepping a rushed thrust aimed for his heart, the 'dead' assailant right-kneed hard the first assailant's stomach, forcing him to stagger down while grabbing hold of his right arm. Seeing the second assailant coming at him from the corner of his left eye, the 'dead' assailant used his left hand parrying an incoming slash (while using his other hand keeping hold of the first assailant's right arm) and swiftly left-kicked him on the chest, knocking him down to the floor. Turning his attention back to the first assailant, the 'dead' assailant brought his right foot sweeping his grabbed foe's legs (and letting go at the same time), flipping him down to the floor back-first.

**-THUD-**

Next, the 'dead' assailant left-kicked the fallen first assailant's fallen dual daggers up in the air, while at the same time, kicked hard his face from the left cheek, sending him unconscious.

The second assailant, previously knocked down, flipped back up to his feet and resumed where he left off, attacking his intended target quickly.

**-STAB-**

Unfortunately for him, he was successful closing the short gap between him and his supposed 'dead' comrade, but not in landing a blow to him instead. He looked down to find a dagger stabbed through his heart, then back up at his 'dead' comrade, who then withdrew his dagger from his foe's stabbed chest and finished him off with an instant horizontal twin slash, cutting his foe's chest and black clothing.

**-SLASH-**

As the second assailant crumbled lifelessly to the floor, he managed to bring his right hand grasping shakily his 'dead' comrade's mask. In seconds, the mask was peeled off, fully revealing a surprise for everyone --- the earnest face of Keitaro Urashima.

"KEITARO!" the Hinata-Sou ladies exclaimed, relieved to find their beloved dorm manager alive and standing before them.

The assailants' leader was aghast. Had he not wore his mask, his agape jaw would be seen, mirroring his disbelief. Narrowing his gaze intently at Keitaro then at his supposed other fallen form (which had four deadly shuriken embedded on him) near the stairs, he gritted his teeth in disdain.

"Impossible! You were lying dead over there!" he pointed out with his right forefinger at the crumpled form of Keitaro near the stairs.

"What the eyes see, the mind believes…" Keitaro merely replied, removing the rest of his mask. Seeing fully his handsome face, the Hinata-Sou ladies swooned little at the sight.

Suddenly, the crumpled form of the other Keitaro disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind four deadly shuriken on the floor. Seeing this, everyone was astounded by what they just witnessed. The assailants' leader was generally peeved by this, feeling angrier at himself rather than at his intended target.

_A shadow clone… how could I've fallen for such a basic deception?_

"Attack!" the leader barked out suddenly to his remaining 9 cohorts. Withdrawing out a double-sided sword from within his cloak, he immediately rushed at Keitaro with instant speed. Dodging sideways a slash, Keitaro was slightly surprised to find the leader instantly detaching his sword into twin short swords and leapt at him in one motion.

**-SWISH- -SWISH-**

Leaping up the air to dodge the attack, Keitaro delivered a falling dropkick to the leader's chest, knocking him off his feet.

**-WHAM-**

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While Keitaro was busy with the assailants' leader and three of his cohorts, Motoko and Haruka squared off against 6 assailants attacking the rest of the surrounded Hinata-Sou ladies. Parrying consecutive slashes coming at her from both sides, Motoko barely brought _Shisui_ blocking another slash aimed for her head from behind.

**-CLANG-**

_Such strength… they're not to be underestimated,_ she cautioned herself. Gritting her teeth in tension, the female swordsman then exerted enough power pushing her attacker from behind, forcing him to stagger back and dropping his guard for a few seconds. Feeling the short opportunity presented to her, Motoko quickly spun around and brought her samurai sword cutting vertically down the first assailant in one motion.

**-SLASH-**

"Naru-sempai, take Mitsune-san and Suu with you and hide in a safe place!" Motoko warned the said female.

"Alright…! Suu, Mitsune, this way…!" Naru exclaimed to her said companions, who were eager not to get tangled up in the battlefield, motioning them to follow after and hide in the kitchen.

Not pausing to see the assailant's demise, Motoko turned her attention to the other two assailants continuously attacking her with wicked dual daggers in hand. Parrying a thrust to her chest from one of her attackers, Motoko took a step back and executed a left under slash, fatally cutting down the second assailant on his chest.

Now faced with the remaining third assailant, she quickly was forced back into the defensive as she blocked deadly thrusts and slashes at her from random directions, in an attempt to confuse her guard.

At that moment, Motoko felt time slowly unwinding. Feeling focus garnered in her eyes, she widened in realization upon guessing the next attack coming at her.

_There! Another feint thrust followed by a slash to my left!_

Gripping _Shisui_ tightly, Motoko stepped towards her attacker, catching him off-guard and making him expecting her be nailed a guaranteed hit. However, she lowered her samurai sword's blade arching to the left, bearing the brunt of a feint thrust from her attacker.

**-CLANG-**

At the same time, she then knocked away her attacker's weapons up the air, forcing him to release them from the impact. The assailant was left wide open.

"Secret Art: Air-Splitting Sword!" Motoko cried, bringing her weapon vertically down hard just inches from the assailant. Instead of him being cut down by the samurai sword, rather, a sudden vacuum of air roughly sent him hard on a nearby wall of the living room.

**-BAM-**

As the vacuum dissipated seconds after impact, the assailant felt his ribs shatter, as well as his heart crumbling to a dead halt. Within the next 3 seconds, the assailant's limp form crashed to the floor face-first and dead at the spot, and leaving a huge hole on the wall behind him.

As Motoko stood upright, sheathing _Shisui_, the dead assailant's dual daggers (which were knocked off up the air previously) landed and stabbed the floor in front of her.

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Haruka meanwhile eyed her attackers warily in her fighting stance, watching them circle around her like a pack of wolves. Beckoning them with a mocking right hand, she taunted her opponents into attacking first. At that instant, one assailant leapt at her, aiming his dual daggers at her heart. Seeing this, Haruka also leapt up to the air, intent on meeting the attack head-on. As the attacker and defender neared each other...

**-WHAM-**

The attacker was instantly greeted by a right backhand, followed by two consecutive kicks to the stomach and chest (a front left kick followed by a roundhouse right kick), which he was sent up to the air, also knocking away his dual daggers in the process. His stunned form came crashing down to the floor after.

Using her hands to cushion her fall, Haruka flipped back up to the air, latching her legs around the head of the second assailant coming at her from her left side. Stunned by her hold, the assailant tried in vain to shake her off him, which she happily obliged by right-chopping above his head, then releasing her hold and jumping off him, staggering him back.

Landing on a roll backwards, she barely stood up, avoiding having her head being sliced off from behind, which turned out coming from the third assailant. Sensing this, Haruka left-elbowed the third assailant on the gut, temporarily knocking the wind off him, then reached both her hands grabbing him from behind and throwing him over her shoulders and down to the floor with impressive strength.

**-THUD-**

Landing painfully back-first on the living floor, the third assailant had the wind taken out of him again by a left axe kick to the gut, followed by a hard right hook to his face, sending him unconscious.

Seeing her remaining attacker (the second assailant) regaining his bearings, Haruka rushed quickly at him. The second assailant lashed out with two consecutive horizontal swipes of his dual daggers, from which Haruka closely ducked and executed a right leg sweep, knocking his legs off and sending him tumbling to the floor. Following after, the female Urashima jumped and flipped over, executing a left leg drop landing hard on his throat, applying all her leg weight in the process.

**-SNAP-**

The assailant's windpipe was crushed instantly from the impact, resulting in a quick death. Getting up to her feet and dusting herself off, Haruka took a hard look at the assailant's dead form, then shaking her head disdainfully.

_...I actually killed someone with the family style,_ she thought ashamedly. She was so caught up with the thought that she hadn't noticed the first assailant (who was still conscious) rushing at her for the killing blow from behind.

"Secret Art: Air-Splitting Sword!" Motoko's voice cried out.

**-ZOOM-**

A gust projectile of air went flying out of nowhere, hitting the first assailant dead-on and sending him crashing through the kitchen door and against the kitchen wall hard, surprising Mitsune, Naru, and Suu, who previously hid inside to avoid the skirmish. The first assailant's body bounced from the kitchen wall (making also a huge hole and cracks) and slumped down to the floor face-first, unable to withstand the force of the impact.

Recovering her senses, Haruka glanced up to find a concerned Motoko running to her aid.

"Haruka-san…! Are you alright? You were almost struck down just now!" the female swordsman exclaimed worriedly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Haruka wondered, then turning around at the direction where Motoko's right forefinger was pointing at. The female Urashima was slightly amazed to find the slumped form of the first assailant farther inside the kitchen and no kitchen door as well. She glanced back sheepishly at Motoko, rubbing behind her head with her left hand, "Oh... whoops."

Motoko sweatdropped at Haruka's behavior then noticed Keitaro in the midst of fighting with the remaining three assailants and their leader. Tugging Haruka's right arm, she motioned her to follow, "Haruka-san, let's help Keitaro!"

The female Urashima nodded earnestly in reply, following after the female swordsman.

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Inside the kitchen, with kitchen utensils in hand for self-defense, Mitsune, Naru, and Suu warily got out of their hiding place to check the slumped form of the first assailant attacking Haruka. The resident party girl glanced at the first assailant's body then at Naru before wryly asking, "Do you think he's still alive?"

Naru eyed her best friend confusingly, "How should I know? Why don't you check and make sure that he is or not!"

"What...! Why do I have to be the one to do it?"

"Ahem, I have Suu trapping me in a bear hug from behind here, you see," Naru emphasized her point, pointing with her left forefinger at the resident foreign girl clutching her tight from behind.

Letting out an annoyed huff of breath at her best friend, Mitsune cautiously went near the first assailant's body, then prodding it with a rolling pin she had in hand.

**-DOINK- -DOINK-**

"Hmm..." Mitsune wondered, deciding to stop her prodding. Using her slipper-clad feet and rolling pin, she gingerly rolled over the first assailant's body, finding his chest a bit compressed deep, indicating a sign of broken ribs. The figure seemed not breathing as well, indicating an instant demise.

"Woah... that clearly is Motoko's work, that's for sure," the resident party girl concluded with an impressed whistle and a cringed look on her face.

_This guy won't be getting up anytime soon… I think Motoko went a bit overboard with him._

"Cool!" Suu blurted out of the blue, raising her right hand in a fist to the air.

Naru turned her attention to the living room, finding Haruka and Motoko helping out Keitaro, who was still fighting with the remaining three assailants and their leader.

_Keitaro... what's happened to you before you came back?_

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Twisting his body around while leaping over incoming dagger swipes, Keitaro dodged back an overhead slash aimed at his head coming from the assailants' leader. His body's natural instincts kicked in high, alerting him of another joint attack coming from both his sides; obeying the impulse, Keitaro leapt up in the air, kicking both the first and second assailants' faces. Landing on the floor, he spotted Motoko and Haruka rushing to his aid, but motioned them to stop at their tracks with a cold gaze directed at them.

"Motoko-san, Haruka-san, don't interfere! I'll handle this!" he barely exclaimed, before being pressed back into the defensive by the assailants' leader, who took a quick glance at the two said females rushing up to his target's aid.

_It seems I underestimated those two females... but, I'll not let them get in my way!_

"Tch... you three, deal with them!" he ordered his remaining cohorts, before forcing his target to retreat outside with continuous sword swipes. The three remaining assailants turned their focus on their new targets as their leader headed after Keitaro outside Hinata-Sou, stopping Motoko and Haruka in their tracks.

The two said females took up fighting positions once again, bracing for another attack. Motoko unsheathed her prized samurai sword, gripping its handle with both hands. As Haruka followed her lead, she was startled to find her blocking her way.

"Motoko, what's this?" she glanced at the female swordsman with a raised left eyebrow.

"Don't worry, Haruka-san, I'll handle them. You go and help Keitaro!" Motoko earnestly replied, before she suddenly sprung up at the remaining assailants with a horizontal swipe of samurai sword, forcing them back and making a clear path to the front door.

Not wanting to argue, Haruka nodded thankfully at the female swordsman, before she rushed outside to aid her beloved. Seeing her retreating form, the three assailants were unable to pursue, for they were pushed back again by Motoko, who coldly eyed her opponents with resolve.

"Your opponent… is me!" she exclaimed.

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Running around the outside premises of Hinata-Sou, Haruka looked around for her beloved. After several seconds of searching back and forth in the area, she headed for the courtyard down below. There she finally found Keitaro slugging it out with the assailant leader, as they traded each other a flurry of punches and kicks, hoping to expose an opening to exploit.

Feeling out of place, Haruka settled for being a spectator, realizing her presence might be a disadvantage for her nephew. She couldn't help but be awed by the intensity the fight between her beloved and the assailant leader was slowly rising.

She managed to repress a surprised cry at the next second as she witnessed the ease Keitaro was dodging menacing sword strikes from the assailant leader, who then opted to use his available weapon to his advantage after having enough going at unarmed combat with his target. Although each strike narrowly missed their mark, they each were executed with deadly precision.

Jumping up to avoid a leg sweep from his foe, Keitaro then looked up to find a copy of the assailant leader in a flying right kick poised at him.

_A shadow clone…?_

The former dorm manager barely brought up both his arms, crossing them like a shield to meet the attack.

**-WHAM-**

The impact was rough, but Keitaro's arms were strong enough to absorb most of the impact and take the instant damage. However, the impact sent him a short distance back and skidding his feet on the ground. Uncrossing his arms, he looked up to find five copies of the assailant leader mercilessly lunging at him with twin swords in hand.

**-SWISH- -SLASH- -SWISH- -SLASH- **

Despite the number advantage he had over his target, the assailant leader allowed an annoyed scowl etched on his face as he noticed the surprising agility his target exhibited, narrowly dodging each consecutive sword strike.

_Tch… his skills haven't diminished as reported. How can the scouts be so wrong about him!_

Noticing the slight uneasiness of his opponent, Keitaro opted for his counter-attack.

_I think I've been defending long enough. _

Dodging a twin sword thrust aimed for his back, he grabbed hold of one assailant leader clone (clone 1) by around the head with his right hand. Seeing another clone (clone 2) coming at him from the front, he leapt up and kicked the rushing clone on the chest hard, using the impact to rebound himself and flipping over and out. At the end of the motion, he left-elbowed the held clone (clone 1) hard on the neck, crushing his windpipe and sending the clone disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Feeling another clone rushing at him from behind (clone 3), Keitaro executed a fast leg sweep, knocking down the clone to the ground. Getting up to his feet after, the former dorm manager grabbed hold of the fallen clone's legs with both hands, then started to spin around to hurl the clone like a discus, sending it crashing hard on another charging clone (clone 4).

**-WHAM-**

The impact sent both clones disappearing in a puff of smoke. That left the remaining two clones standing (clone 2 and the real assailant leader). Placing his hands behind his back, Keitaro glanced passively at the two assailant leader clones, "It's over… tell me who sent you after me."

Both clones simply smirked in reply, and stood crouched down forming a hand seal.

"**-Chuckle**- You'll have to kill me to find out," they quipped, finishing their hand seals, "**Lingering Mist Technique**!"

Suddenly, a large fog was conjured in the atmosphere, limiting visibility greatly in the area.

Watching from the sidelines, Haruka was surprised and unable to see clearly her nephew and his mysterious opponent. Her eyes continued looking all over the area.

_How did fog suddenly appear out of nowhere here? Damn, now I can't see Keitaro!_

Staring down at the ground in front of him, Keitaro's ears perked up, listening to the assailant leader's voice intently. He knew he had to pinpoint his opponent's location, and also discern the real person from the remaining clone (clone 2) while at it.

_Even though I can't see him, I can feel his presence. This mist... it's definitely a ninjutsu technique._

"Now... how should I kill you, I wonder? Would you like your death to be slow and painful, or swift and precise?" the assailant leader's voice echoed amusingly throughout the area.

Keitaro's senses wavered as he felt the two assailant leader clones slowly circling him in the mist-filled area. He glanced back and forth, trying to discerning his opponent's location. Hearing several seconds of fading footsteps and movement from his opponent, the former dorm manager stood his ground waiting.

Instantly coming from the mist, twin swords were hurled fast towards Keitaro from behind him. Hearing something thrown fast at him, Keitaro spun around seeing the two said projectiles about to land their mark. At a split second, he bent his back in an arc, while feeling the sudden, small vacuum of air from the twin swords trailing past his face.

Then suddenly, an assailant leader clone jumped out in view, hovering above Keitaro with its twin swords in hand. As it poised from an overhead strike, it joined its twin swords together, forming its double-edge sword, and then grasping it with its right hand. Seeing Keitaro getting up to his feet, it had a small window of opportunity to take. As the former dorm manager leapt up to meet the clone's attack, he didn't realize the twin swords thrown at him previously suddenly materialize as the real assailant leader, who had four large, sharp shuriken in hand and hovered in the air.

"Ha... you fell for it!" the assailant leader exclaimed with a triumphant smile, before hurling his projectiles at his defenseless target up in the air. Victory was within reach!

Unfortunately, it was short-lived in a matter of seconds.

Parrying the clone's overhead sword strike up in the air, Keitaro temporarily stunned it with a left palm strike to the face. Next, he propped both his legs at the clone's chest, before using it as a springboard to propel himself away from the incoming path of four large, sharp shurikens, which hit the clone instead, sending it disappearing in a puff of smoke.

The assailant leader stood watching in shock at his failed attack. Quickly shrugging off his failure, he was now hell-bent in killing his target. Seeing Keitaro still up in the air and landing towards him, the assailant leader leapt up to the air, deciding to meet his target head-on, while withdrawing his double-edged sword from within his cloak.

"I shall end this here and now!" he bellowed angrily.

Finding his opponent meeting him furiously head-on, Keitaro narrowed his gaze at him earnestly. As they quickly closed in on each other, the former dorm manager secretly reached out for something stash within his black cloak.

**-SHWISH-**

Haruka's ears perked up at the audible resounding slash. Immediately she feared the worst coming to her nephew as she darted her eyes all around her, trying to look for his appearance.

_...! I hope... I'm not hearing... what I think it is just now._

Suddenly, the mist slowly dissipated before her eyes, and she could spot two black silhouettes nearby. Upon closer look, she saw her nephew and the assailant leader crouched down with blades in hand --- a double-edged sword sported by the assailant leader, while a twin _nodaichi_ sported by Keitaro --- and facing a short distance away from each other. Haruka held her breath in suspense as she watched the outcome of her nephew's fight slowly unfolding before her.

The assailant leader first stood up to his feet, setting his double-edged sword pointed down to the ground, and slowly turned facing his target. His eyes widen slightly in surprise as he noticed the twin nodachi his target held in both hands while he turned facing him.

_Where did he get that weapon? Could it be... he had it hidden all this time, and waiting to use it at the last chance?_

Keitaro slowly stood facing the assailant leader with his earnest expression still intact, his twin nodachi pointed downwards at the ground.

As the two warriors stood staring down at each other, the mist around them slowly faded, revealing the clear, sunny afternoon atmosphere. A soft breeze of air whistled by, carrying a single dead leaf, probably from one of the nearby trees in the courtyard area. Strangely enough, the dead leaf was then carried and placed in between Keitaro and the assailant leader, and slowly fell to the ground.

"...Once again, I ask you... who sent you here?" Keitaro inquired, breaking the silence.

The assailant leader smirked beneath his mask.

"...Judgment... Judgment sent me."

As the dead leaf landed on the ground, blood sprayed forth from a sudden large gash on the assailant leader's chest, causing him to buckle to the ground in writhing pain. He felt blood dripping out from his mouth as he struggled propping himself up with his double-edged sword using both hands on its handle.

Looking closely at the tips of Keitaro's twin nodachi, small lines of blood dripped to the ground.

The victor was proclaimed.

Feeling his death being imminent, the injured assailant chuckled heartedly, catching a peculiar stare from Haruka. Keitaro retained his earnest look, however, as he watched on.

"...You're... **-Cough-** definitely skilled as rumored... **-Cough-** A pity... that you had to be an enemy," the assailant leader uttered his last words before collapsing to the ground back-first, dropping his double-edged sword next to him. Blood oozed out from the fallen assailant leader's wound, creating a puddle beneath his body.

Sickened by the sight, Haruka turned around, suppressing the urge to throw up as she covered her mouth with one hand and held over her stomach with the other.

Watching a minute or two at the dead assailant leader, Keitaro rummaged through his thoughts, pondering on his opponent's particular statement that caught his attention.

"_**...Judgment... Judgment sent me."**_

_Judgment... where... where have I heard of this word,_ he thought grimly.

Deciding to ponder the matter at another time, Keitaro shook his head, clearing his mind. Holding both his nodachi with his left hand and by their handles, he took out a large white cloth from within his cloak, then using it to wipe his weapon's blades clean. He walked over to the dead assailant leader and threw the cloth landing on his bloodied chest.

"Life isn't something to throw away," he uttered, before slowly sheathing his twin nodachi in place.

Upon closer look at the used cloth lain on the dead assailant leader's chest, an insignia of a black cross was etched on the bottom right-hand corner (which was also the same insignia on the back of his white overcoat and on the scabbards of his twin nodachi).

Noticing the lone figure of his aunt nearby, Keitaro approached her quickly to find her back turned towards him. Slowly holding onto her shoulders, he gently turned her around facing him, catching his aunt in short surprise.

"Haruka-san...? Are you hurt?" he asked concerned.

The said female Urashima couldn't help but be entranced by his brown eyes, which gazed genuinely at her with attention and concern. It took her another second or two to realize her bearings, and she blushed little in embarrassment.

"Ah... y-yes, I'm okay. I was just shaken up by what's happening right now," Haruka replied, slowly regaining her stoic face.

A sudden loud explosion from the outside premises of Hinata-Sou upstairs alerted the two Urashimas, who glanced upwards at the direction of the explosion's sound.

"What now...?" Haruka groaned annoyingly.

Keitaro narrowed his eyes in earnest once again, feeling matters with the unknown assailants yet to be finished. He instantly broke off in a sprint, leaping fast and high with surprising agility and dexterity, and leaving Haruka behind.

"Keitaro…! Wait!" she protested, beginning running after her nephew.

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As soon as he set foot back on Hinata-Sou's outside premises, Keitaro saw the remaining assailant's body sent crashing limply towards him. Dodging the incoming body in a split-second, Keitaro looked up to find a huge hole where the front door of the female dorm building used to be. Emerging out of the hole, Motoko dusted herself off after sheathing _Shisui_ in place. Glancing up, she noticed the arriving former dorm manager, and was relieved to see him.

"Motoko-san, are you alright?" Keitaro inquired, relieved to find Motoko unhurt.

"Yes, I'm managing well, K... um, Urashima," the female swordsman awkwardly replied, unsure in addressing the form dorm manager. Nodding in reply, Keitaro looked back to see the remaining assailant's body lying limp like a broken record near the stone steps where he arrived just now.

_Well... I guess Motoko is faring well as always when it comes to her swordplay. _

The said female swordsman paused her breath momentarily as she stared close at the new look Keitaro was sporting.

_I have to strangely admit, he does look more handsome in the enemy's clothes than in his regular clothes._

She blushed slightly at the thought, turning her back towards Keitaro to cover up her embarrassment.

"Hmm... I'm worried about the other girls. Ah, Haruka-san, good timing…!" Keitaro commented at the arrival of his said aunt panting hard and catching her breath, "Motoko-san, Haruka-san, may I ask that you check up on Naru, Mitsune, and Suu? I'll check up on Shinobu in my temporary room upstairs, I instructed her to remain hiding there and locking up after."

Regaining her composure, Motoko nodded in reply, "Very well, Urashima, I'm happy to help. I've also managed to take care of the remaining intruders. That one I sent flying over there was the last," she pointed at the remaining assailant's limp body lain near the stone steps, "Haruka-san, this way."

Before following after Motoko's lead, Haruka sighed inwardly. She took a last glance at her nephew, giving him a smile, which he returned back with his own. She then went inside Hinata-Sou, catching up after Motoko.

Keitaro's senses kicked in once again, as he felt a lingering presence watching him. Turning around facing the outside premises of Hinata-Sou, his eyes darted back and forth, examining any overlooked detail in the area. After several seconds of looking around, he then felt the lingering presence fading away.

One conclusion came to mind: someone was watching from behind the scenes.

_...Someone was definitely watching me just now. _

Deep down, he blamed himself deeply for bringing trouble to Hinata-Sou. Bringing his gloved right hand opening up, he saw it shaking little before clenching it tight.

_Yamato-sensei... _

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Keitaro's intuition proved to be right, for, swiftly darting through the sparse forest near Hinata-Sou, the very last remaining assailant (assailant 3, who was knocked unconscious by Haruka previously) was dashing hard and fast, intent in bringing back a report of failure to the head of his ninja clan. In the aftermath of the battle occurring against Motoko and Haruka back in Hinata-Sou, he had managed to slip away undetected, after receiving a mental link from his squad leader ordering him to retreat and report the findings on their sole target.

"**-Cough-** Failure... this wasn't supposed to occur," he cursed beneath his mask. He knew well that death awaited him back in his ninja clan's hidden territory, and failure wasn't a welcoming word in the vocabulary for his clan head.

But he still had to perform his duty, whether this may be his last.


End file.
